CH 44

Chapter 44: Two Monsters.

Edited by: Mochiusagi 

Like a ghost, 'Hong Cheng' swiftly moved. Despite his right arm being broken, it did not affect him much.

[Swish~]!

[Bang~]

The two men engaged in a battle in the open space. They were moving so quickly, there was no way for an ordinary person to see them clearly.

The only thing that could be felt was only an insidious coldness, mixed with rolling waves of heat.

[Boom~]!!!

Shen Changqing slashed with his sword, while 'Hong Cheng' dodged. Shen Changqing then took this opportunity to strike with his other hand.

[Iron Sand Palm]!

His red palm, which looked like it was burning, was imprinted on 'Hong Cheng's' body. A burnt smell immediately wafted out.

"Ah~!"

With a piercing scream, 'Hong Cheng' was knocked sideways.

But it was at this time, that Yin Qi suddenly surged from behind Shen Changqing's back. He then felt a cold touch, accompanied by a burst of pain.

Even with the Level 15 [Thirteen Cross Practice], he was forced back and his defenses broke. It was only because of the hidden Astral Qi in his flesh, that the attack was forced back before it could go further.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Changqing's sword passed under his armpit. Like a hot knife meeting ice, there was a hissing sound. 

"Ah..."

Another ear-piercing scream rang out.

Shen Changqing drew his sword back and retreated to the entrance of the prison. Before he had time to clearly see what the sneak attack was, a cloaked monster with a decaying face, just like the female corpse he saw in the broken temple illusion, appeared.

The difference was that this monster's left arm had been broken, leaving only the right arm intact.

This was obviously the Ghost Level monster that had originally attacked him, but was injured instead.

"It's time to go all out!"

Shen Changqing secretly took a deep breath, as his gaze swept back and forth between the two monsters. His bloody back also began slowly healing.

The monster was able to launch a sneak attack at the right time.

The Ghost Level monster with the broken arm, must be following the orders of the Grudge Level monster that had possessed Hong Cheng's body.

From the current situation, it seemed that the Eternal Life Alliance had only dispatched two monsters.

"Two monsters, one at the Ghost Level and one at the Grudge Level. The Eternal Life Alliance really thinks highly of me!"

Shen Changqing coldly laughed. The next instant, his body shot out like an arrow leaving a bow, attacking the Ghost Level monster.

He would pick off the weaker one first.

As Shen Changqing rushed for the kill, the female corpse seemed to perceive the danger and her body dispersed like smoke. As if she had never appeared in the first place.

In response, Shen Changqing raised his perception to the maximum.

"Here you are!"

He took one step to the left and cut down. What was supposed to be empty space, after the cut down, immediately revealed the female corpse's figure.

In the face of Shen Changqing's full force attack, the female corpse's body, that was made of Yin Qi, was like a candle in the wind. It looked like it could be extinguished at any time.

At the same time, when the female corpse was about to be killed, 'Hong Cheng' drew close and struck towards Shen Changqing's back.

When the Grudge Level monster struck, Yin Qi spread all over the sky.

In that instant, a chill ran through Shen Changqing's body. But instead of fear, Shen Changqing showed a fierce smile.

"I was waiting for you!"

Shen Changqing retracted his sword from the female corpse and he moved halfway sideways. 

He began to fall backwards towards 'Hong Cheng's' embrace.

As early as when the [Thirteen Cross Practice] was perfected, he had already achieved the point where he can freely control his strength.

His back slam was not much weaker than a boulder being thrown.

'Hong Cheng' was caught off guard and was directly hit, stumbling backwards.

After the strike was successful, Shen Changqing twisted and his sword slashed towards 'Hong Cheng's' neck.

As the sword cut through, a head flew into the air.

Blood then gushed out from the severed neck.

A white shadow emerged from the corpse with lightning-like speed and was about to flee.

"You still want to leave?!"

Shen Changqing angrily shouted. He stomped his right foot into the ground, which shattered the green stone floor tiles. His body used the momentum created, to propel himself towards the white shadow and cut it down.

[Tear--]

"Ah~!" 

A tearing noise, which was accompanied by a desperate scream, sounded. The white shadow was split in two.

After Shen Changqing landed on the ground, he looked back at the female corpse, and found that it had already disappeared.

The surrounding area was now filled with silence.

Only Hong Cheng's dismembered corpse was lying there, blood flowing all over the ground.

"Two monsters!"

Shen Changqing looked at Hong Cheng's corpse. His face turned gloomy, without the slightest hint of joy from killing the monster that had possessed Hong Cheng.

The Eternal Life Alliance had actually sent two monsters over!

One aimed to rescue the Zhao Family's people, while the other was to assassinate the others inside the Government Office.

This just showed that the other party's purpose was not just as simple as a prison break. Instead, they want to kill everyone in the Government Office, as a way of taking revenge for killing the monster in the Ancient Moon Village.

It can be understood that the Grudge Level monster was directed at him, Shen Changqing.

Standing still, Shen Changqing silently recovered from his consumption from the battle just now.

Although it did not look like the battle lasted very long, every passing second was enough to be fatal. Naturally, his consumption was large.

In his dantian, more than half of the Pure Yang True Qi had been consumed.

The battle occurred so suddenly. The Officials were not ready, nor were they able to assess the situation. Seeing that there was no movement in the Government Office, the Officials were either all dead or there were some survivors hiding elsewhere, not daring to venture out.

But no matter which result, it didn't affect Shen Changqing too much.

After a long time, a subtle noise suddenly sounded.

Shen Changqing looked sideways, just in time to catch a sneaking figure.

They were far away from each other, so Shen Changqing could not clearly see the other side's face.

"Who is it? Come out!"

"It's..., it's me, Shen– Lord Shen!"

A trembling voice sounded amidst the silence of the night. But the figure did not dare to approach.

Shi Qingsheng?

Just by listening to the voice, Shen Changqing could tell who it was.

"It's me!"

Only after receiving an affirmative answer, did the figure dare to reveal himself. It was indeed Shi Qingsheng.

Unlike his calm look in the previous days, the other side now looked panicked. Especially when he saw the dismembered corpse of Hong Cheng on the ground. His face became even more ghastly white.

"Great, You Excellency, Hong... Constable Hong is–"

Shi Qingsheng's fingers were trembling, his speech stammering. This was especially amplified at the sight of Shen Changqing's sword, still dripping with blood.

Sheathing the sword, Shen Changqing calmly spoke: "Monsters attacked the Government Office. Hong Cheng was possessed, so I killed him. How is the situation elsewhere?"

From the moment he got possessed, Hong Cheng was as good as dead.

Even if the monster left Hong Cheng's body later, the other party was still destined to die.

On the contrary, Shi Qingsheng, a Book Master without any combat prowess, actually survived till now! This surprised Shen Changqing.

[Gulp~]

Shi Qingsheng forced himself to calm down, but looking at Hong Cheng's corpse, he still audibly gulped: "Your Excellency, I was sleeping when I heard a commotion. I immediately rushed to the area where the Officials live."

"Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, their bodies had already been sucked dry."

"Then I heard a commotion here, so I rushed to take a look. I didn't expect Your Excellency to kill the monster."

Regarding this, Shen Changqing had his own understanding.

With Shi Qingsheng's guts, it was impossible for him to immediately rush to the commotion. He most likely waited for the commotion to completely stop, before daring to go over to check.

As for why the other party did not die, it could only be said that he's lucky.

After killing a few Officials and possessing Hong Cheng, the Grudge Level monster learned that the prison break had failed. It then immediately rushed to the aid of the Ghost Level monster, which temporarily spared Shi Qingsheng.

"The monster has been killed by me, so in the meantime, there would be no big commotion. Now, immediately gather the people, then dispose of Hong Cheng's and others' bodies. Pension should also be given to those who they left behind."

"As for other things, you do not need to care."

Shen Changqing ordered.

Hearing this, Shi Qingsheng nodded: "This humble servant obeys the order!"

As Shi Qingsheng retreated, Shen Changqing sank into his mind and looked at the panel.

He should have made quite a lot of gain from killing a Grudge Level monster.

The monster in Ancient Moon Village, which was weaker than the Grudge Level, had given him 15 points of Killing Value. Knowing this, the monster that possessed Hong Cheng should not give worse.

As expected, the Killing Value on the panel had gone from two points to 32 points.

Not counting his own two points, the Grudge Level monster had contributed 30 points of Killing Value!

"32 points of Killing Value would allow me to improve my strength a lot!"

Shen Changqing nodded in satisfaction. He considered this as the only good news of the night.

"The Eternal Life Alliance just sent two monsters, I killed one and the other escaped. My strength is definitely exposed. Although it is unlikely that the Eternal Life Alliance will have any movement in a short time, there is no guarantee that no accident will happen."

"In order to ensure that nothing can go wrong, I need to improve my strength without delay."

Making a decision, Shen Changqing's thoughts had already delved into the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi].

With the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] that's of a higher rank, there was no need to upgrade the [Pure Yang Kung Fu].

His thoughts moved. His Killing Value was consumed by four points, and the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] was raised to Level 4.

Upon reaching Level 4, the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]'s True Qi in his dantian had increased by a lot. Although he had lost some qi and blood, it was within a bearable range.

“I can still bear it.”

“Then let's continue!”

With Shen Changqing's orders, the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] began to steadily increase.

Level 5 of the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]!

Level 6 of the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]!

Level 7 of the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]!

By the time the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] was raised to Level 8, the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]'s True Qi in his dantian had undergone a powerful transformation. It seemed to become solid and more powerful.

Immediately after that, Shen Changqing felt a strong feeling of weakness, causing his face to turn white.

"I have reached the limit!"

He was no longer unfamiliar with this state.

This was caused by the loss of the qi and blood, which resulted from upgrading too fast.

In other words, the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] could only be raised to Level 8 for the time being. The rest needed to wait until his body recovered.

But even so, the Level 8 [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] was actually the point where the Cultivator could officially cross into the Innate Realm.