Chapter 511 - 276: Return (2)

But the next moment, as they watched Liu Qingfeng charge forward holding nothing back, they were astonished to see Zhou Zhendong charging to meet him.

But what no one saw was that as Zhou Zhendong rushed toward Liu Qingfeng, he had used a dagger hidden at his waist to swiftly cut his own palm, soaking the folded Talisman he held with blood.

Zhou Zhendong looked at Liu Qingfeng’s bloodthirsty smile, his own expression remaining perfectly calm.

As the two rapidly closed in on each other, Liu Qingfeng threw a punch wreathed in True Qi, aiming for Zhou Zhendong’s head. But in the next instant, a piercing golden light shot from Zhou Zhendong’s palm. It moved with the speed of lightning, burying itself in Liu Qingfeng’s chest—who was less than two meters away—before exiting his back as if it had met no resistance. It then continued at an astonishing speed to slam into the city wall.

BANG!!

A shocking, explosive sound erupted from the city wall.

Instantly, a fist-sized hole appeared on the Jade Peak County wall. It hadn’t pierced all the way through, but it left a crater over a meter deep!

"What!!"

Everyone present stared at the city wall, appalled.

The Liu Family members who had been blocking the two Fourth Grade Martial Artists also stared, their faces frozen in a daze.

"This... this..."

Liu Qingfeng seemed rooted to the spot. With an expression of utter disbelief, he slowly lowered his head to look at his chest.

The stench of burnt flesh wafted from his chest, and fresh blood seeped from the charred wound. He could feel it—the finger-sized hole had pierced straight through the center of his chest. Right where his heart was!

THUD!

No matter how powerful Liu Qingfeng was, he couldn’t survive a shattered heart. He muttered one last thing before crashing heavily to the ground.

"What was that?" members of the Liu Family in the surrounding crowd murmured in horror.

They had never seen such a method of attack.

"Is that an Innate Expert’s external projection of True Qi?!" Li Lu asked, his voice a mixture of shock and confusion.

"No, impossible!" Li Xuejin’s eyes trembled. "That can’t be an Innate Expert’s external projection of True Qi! That was... that was..."

Li Xuejin desperately suppressed the guess forming in his mind. He had read about something similar in the ancient texts at his ancestral home, and this was a perfect match.

"That... That’s...!" Atop the city wall, the expression of the hitherto calm and unruffled Li Mingxin changed drastically.

’Just as I thought!’ A sharp glint of excitement flashed in Chen Kaishan’s eyes.

His gamble had paid off!

The next moment, he sensed the two figures beside him sweeping down toward the ground below.

Li Mingxin and Li Tonghua could no longer contain themselves and sped toward Zhou Zhendong.

A chill ran through Chen Kaishan. Worried that Li Mingxin would move against Zhou Zhendong, he used his Body Technique to leap down after them!

Since his gamble had paid off, there was no longer any need for balancing acts or hesitation!

As Li Mingxin descended and charged toward Zhou Zhendong, Li Lu, Li Xuejin, and the others also rushed over.

Li Tonghua and Li Mingxin arrived on the battlefield. The former went to inspect the corpse, while the latter saw Zhou Zhendong’s blood-stained right hand and the Talisman that had turned to ash. This instantly confirmed his suspicions. Suppressing his inner excitement, he reached out to grab Zhou Zhendong.

But in the next instant, Chen Kaishan, who had followed close behind, caught Li Mingxin’s wrist. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Li Mingxin’s face darkened. "The Li Family is conducting its affairs. We don’t need a mere branch Steward from a Commerce Association to question us! Stand aside!"

"Heh. Zhou Zhendong is the second boss of the Cheng Family. Cheng Zongyang is a Steward in my Commerce Association, as well as my junior. Since he isn’t here, it falls to me to watch over things."

"Uncle, send the signal!" Li Mingxin ordered without hesitation. In this situation, his own Cultivation wasn’t enough to intimidate them; his only option was to signal for reinforcements!

At this, Chen Kaishan’s expression changed. He yelled to his two Fourth Grade friends, "Stop them!"

This matter could not, under any circumstances, be known to the rest of the Li Family. Otherwise, things would spiral out of control.

At that point, it wouldn’t just involve the Li Family and the Da Yi Commerce Association. It was likely that all the Royal Families of the Seven Kingdoms would be drawn in!

Just then, Li Tonghua pulled a Signal Rod from within his robes!

But he was intercepted the next moment by the two Fourth Grade Martial Artists.

"Chen Kaishan! I am representing the Royal Li Family right now! You can’t hide the implications of this, and you certainly can’t contain the fallout! Do you have a death wish?!" Li Mingxin glared furiously at Chen Kaishan.

However, Chen Kaishan’s next words silenced him instantly.

"Or would you rather just hand this opportunity over to your superiors? You’ll get a pat on the head and a simple reward, but everything of real value will go to them."

Chen Kaishan knew exactly how powerful the allure of this discovery was to people like Li Mingxin; it was precisely why he had been willing to take this gamble.

Thankfully, he had bet correctly.

To defeat a snake, you strike at its vital spot. He understood that for someone like Li Mingxin—who cared only for cultivating his own strength and not for political power—this discovery was far more important than his Martial Arts training.

Seeing Li Mingxin raise a hand to silence Li Tonghua, Chen Kaishan turned to Li Xuejin. "Get everyone who isn’t involved out of here."

Li Xuejin understood immediately. He turned to Li Lu and said, "Get everyone who isn’t involved out of here. Tell them the incident with the Innate Expert’s external projection of True Qi was just an accident, that they aren’t in danger, and that there’s no need to worry."

At this, both Chen Kaishan and Li Mingxin couldn’t help but cast an appreciative glance at Li Xuejin.

As Li Lu quickly dispersed the crowd, only a handful of people remained in the central area: Li Mingxin, Li Tonghua, Chen Kaishan, Li Xuejin, Li Lu, Zhou Zhendong, Cheng Zongwen, and the two Fourth Grade Martial Artists.

"Speak. Where did you get that thing? If I don’t get a satisfactory answer, the Cheng Family will cease to exist."

By now, Cheng Zongwen had bandaged Zhou Zhendong’s hand. The injury had been self-inflicted, a result of activating the Talisman improperly.