Chapter 216: Shaking Ling'an

Just a moment ago, it was "don't provoke the patron." Now, it was already "don't provoke the advisor."

The speed at which this temple cultivator changed his tune earned an extra glance from Yan Jing.

He was a talent.

By stepping forward right now, the temple cultivator was likely not just venting his earlier frustration, but trying to disrupt Yan Jing's mood, preventing him from attacking further and minimizing Feinan Temple's losses.

But today, he had no intention of holding back.

Ling'an belonged to the Eight Great Families.

Or rather, it used to.

He had lived quite comfortably in Ling'an and had no intention of leaving, but now, he intended to live even more comfortably.

"Do you two have anything else to say?"

Yan Jing looked at the bald man and the An Family woman. In his hands, weird energy surged.

Seeing this, the temple cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he immediately retreated to the side.

He hadn't originally been the head monk of Feinan Temple.

The reason he was now was that the previous head monk had died!

How did he die? Who knew!

The last time he went out to capture the very advisor standing before them, he never returned!

The bald man and the An Family woman were still reeling from their shock, but upon hearing Yan Jing's words, a ruthless look surfaced on their faces.

Now, even if they wanted to run, they couldn't!

Their only chance to break out of this situation was to kill Yan Jing right here and now!

Besides, they simply didn't believe that someone who had entered the Novice Dungeon barely two months ago could actually be this strong. Could he really fight against the Third Tier?!

It was highly likely that he had merely obtained some sort of artifact that enhanced his physical strength!

As long as they were given the chance to activate the power of their Rituals, victory would still be theirs!

"Hum—"

Brilliant light bloomed behind the two of them simultaneously.

Yellow-green plus yellow plus purple, yellow plus yellow plus purple.

As near-peak combatants in their respective families, both of them had once been considered geniuses who made waves in a certain era of Ling'an City.

Behind the An Family woman, three phantom images revolved: a broken cleaver, a bloodstained apron, and a white pot that looked like a creature's skull.

She reached out and pulled a tentacle from some unknown space. Slashing it directly with the cleaver, blood sprayed and surged toward Yan Jing.

Without pausing, she tossed the severed tentacle into the pot, using her weird energy as a flame to begin stir-frying.

A strange fragrance spread through the air, causing the crowd hiding far away to swallow their saliva involuntarily.

At the same time, a long blade materialized in the hands of the bald man from the Xu Family, and he chopped violently toward Yan Jing.

It was similar to the hand-blade technique of the 'Order' pathway, but a notch inferior; it could only be executed using a Second Tier Vessel.

Even so, its power could not be underestimated. As the blade fell, a dark light flashed across the air, bringing with it an unrecognizable burning smell.

In just a few short seconds, two fatal attacks surged toward Yan Jing simultaneously.

But they were still a bit too slow—slow enough for Yan Jing to take a bite out of an apple.

"Whoosh—"

Billowing black mist instantly unfurled around him, and several streaks of white silk launched into the air. The Black and White Dual Guns materialized in his hands, and the thorn bracers secured themselves to his wrists. In the next instant, the gun barrel swept through the air, leaving a trail of dark light as it violently clashed with the bald man's blade.

"Clang—"

The sound of colliding metal rang out. The bald man's knife-wielding right hand trembled wildly, and the tremendous force transmitted from the gun instantly tore the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.

After heavily pressing down the bald man's blade, the long gun in Yan Jing's hands flicked upward in a direct thrust at the man's throat!

The cold gleam danced. In the final fraction of a second, the bald man twisted his body, trying to dodge. But to his horror, the gun in Yan Jing's hands actually shifted along with his body, as if predicting his very evasion!

"Squelch—"

The bald man stared wide-eyed at the gun barrel lodged in his throat. He reached up frantically and pulled the weapon out, causing blood to instantly fountain from the wound.

The phantom of a filthy uniform appeared; he hastily slipped it over his body and began healing the wound at his throat.

He tried to flee into the distance.

But immediately after, intense, agonizing pain shot through his entire body like a lightning strike, forcing him to collapse to the ground in torment.

His miserable screams instantly flooded the entire street.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing tossed out a seed. Wielding the long gun, he swept away the blood surging toward him and looked to the other side.

That tentacle seemed to belong to some powerful Eldritch Creature. The moment its blood touched the long gun, it immediately began to corrode the barrel. Fortunately, a portion of the Power of the White Stone emitted a luminescent glow, neutralizing it.

After fusing with that White Stone, the current Power of the White Stone had grown even stronger, elevating its amplification abilities to a whole new level.

Yan Jing dashed straight toward the woman cooking the dish.

The closer he got, the more intense the hunger in his stomach became.

Normally, this kind of effect would have impacted him to some degree, but perhaps because he had stayed in a certain Tower for so long, it just felt... alright?

By now, the woman had reached the critical stage. She had no spatula, so she was using her bare hands to stir-fry the contents inside the skull-like pot. The skin on her hands had nearly rotted away entirely, but she remained intensely focused.

Because the dish was about to be served.

This dish would summon an Eldritch Creature of the 'Gluttony' pathway, one whose combat strength could nearly reach the peak of the Third Tier.

But right at that exact moment, reflected in her despairing eyes, the tip of the gun flashed with a cold glint as it stabbed into the pot and flicked forcefully upward.

Frenzied thorns erupted, instantly piercing several small holes through the white skull. Then Yan Jing stepped forward. Several black and white threads, so thin they were almost invisible, looped around the woman's body, and he gave them a vicious tug.

"Squelch—"

Ringing out at the exact same time was a sound from the bald man on the other side. A towering thorn bloomed beside him, its luminescent white petals swaying amidst the dazzling, dark light.

Before long, the man's agonizing screams faded away.

The uniform surrounding his body completely dissipated.

The woman was clearly a bit stronger than the man; the Ritual of 'Gluttony' had granted her a formidable physical constitution.

But she was nearly completely drained of vital energy, and bloody welts from the tightening threads welled up across her body.

"I sur... surrender... I... I want to live..."

Her hands desperately clawed at the threads around her neck. Gasping hoarsely for air, driven by pure survival instinct, she fought for a final, non-existent glimmer of hope.

But Yan Jing yanked forcefully.

Blood bloomed around her like roses.

In an instant of absolute despair, the woman was severed into pieces.

Yan Jing turned around and looked at the already dumbfounded crowd, terrifying them so much that they all collectively took a step back.

Quite a few people collapsed to the ground in horror, their legs going completely soft as they stared in sheer terror at the blood-drenched god of death before them.

"Y-Young friend... Mr. Yan..."

The Chen Family man suppressed the fear in his heart and spoke up, "We all surrender. If you want Flags, we'll give them to you."

"We are all from Ling'an; please show us some mercy."

He never could have imagined that the "strong" Chen Dalang had spoken of meant strong to this absurd extent.

In the distance, the head temple cultivator hurried over at this exact moment and called out:

"Advisor Yan! Advisor Yan! Our abbot said that if you want territory, we'll carve out thirty for you! He said that he and County Magistrate Luo are old friends, and he hopes you can show some mercy!"

In the temple cultivator's hands rested a wooden fish. Yan Jing recognized it; it was the wooden fish belonging to the abbot of Feinan Temple.

Evidently, the abbot had prepared for both outcomes.

Yan Jing laughed.

"The County Magistrate did specifically mention this to me. He and the abbot are indeed close friends, but... thirty makes it hard for me to report back..."

"Forty! We'll carve out forty for you!"

"Then I must thank the abbot."

Yan Jing smiled.

Then, he walked into the crowd, heading in Yan Lei's direction.

Watching Yan Jing walk toward her, cold sweat instantly poured down Yan Lei's body.

Her tank top was completely soaked through. She lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

When she saw Yan Jing's footsteps stop right beside her, her heart skipped a beat.

"I hope you can live a little longer, sister."

Seeing the halo around Yan Lei completely disappear, Yan Jing smiled and then walked toward the other side of Bianliu County.

It wasn't until Yan Jing's figure had been gone for a long time that Yan Lei lifted her head, trembling, and slumped limply to the ground.

...

...

At this moment.

High in the sky above the Third Lake Prefecture.

Several square spaces formed by golden curtains confronted each other in mid-air.

In the very center, two golden curtains faced each other from afar, sandwiching a crystalline, glowing board between them.

It was precisely because of these two golden curtains that Minhu had become the way it was right now.

"Which match are we betting on next?"

The figure inside one of the golden curtains looked toward the opposite curtain and asked.

The two of them had just placed bets on a few fast-progressing "games." Relying on his understanding of his own Domain, he had won every single bet.

But... those were just small stakes.

Right now, in Minhu, there were only two games that served as the true deciding matches.

And he could also sense that the human opposite him was losing patience and getting ready to make a move on those two games.

"We'll bet on that one."

From the opposite golden curtain, a relaxed voice rang out. A streak of golden light flew toward the southernmost edge of the glowing board.

Pointing straight at Bianliu County.