ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!
Late at night.
Low, guttural roars echoed through the pitch-black night. The Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies slumbering in the Blood Pools were being awakened one after another.
Ye Family Mansion, Kaiyuan Tower, Wanhua Square, Liuying Market...
Nine locations in total.
Each on a different street in the Outer City.
At this moment, hordes of Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies were already pouring out of these nine locations, using them as epicenters to spread in all directions.
"AH!!!"
"Help! Help!!!"
"Zombies! There are Zombies!"
"There are monsters!"
"..."
The bloodcurdling screams of the Outer City's residents filled the air. This sudden catastrophe caught everyone by surprise. People who were still sound asleep were scared witless, their faces pale, but most were simply bitten to death by the Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies.
"What?!"
HISS...
"How could this be? How are there so many Zombies?!"
"!!!"
The constables from the Government Office on patrol, along with the members of the Patrol Teams, stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with horror and utter shock.
"Kill!!!"
"Save them!!"
"Fuck!"
"..."
The battle erupted in an instant.
「Red Leaf Street.」
"What?"
Xu Qing was startled awake. He quickly scrambled out of bed, and with a flick of his right hand, he had already picked up the Iron Sword from his bedside.
'What's going on?'
Xu Qing rushed out of his room. With a single leap, he landed on the roof. He used the relatively bright moonlight to survey his surroundings and saw one tragedy after another unfolding.
Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, Zombies.
There were many.
A great number of them.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Qing discovered that all these monsters were coming from Qianbao Tower on Red Leaf Street. Qianbao Tower was one of the Ye Family's properties on Red Leaf Street.
'Such audacity.'
Xu Qing's expression darkened. 'The person behind this is unbelievably brazen. To dare to incite such chaos... it's like the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.'
'Also,'
'for the mastermind to cause such a huge disturbance, could the higher-ups really have not noticed anything at all? No! That's not right! When I asked my master about this, he gave me a warning. That means they were aware of it long ago. So why did it still escalate to this?'
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!
Just as Xu Qing was lost in thought, he heard low, guttural roars.
"Help! Help!!!"
"..."
At the same time, there were also cries for help.
'Evil Ghost Mask.'
BUZZ!
With a thought, Xu Qing gently pressed his left hand against the Evil Ghost Mask on his face. A cool energy spread from within the mask, rapidly engulfing his entire body.
In an instant, Xu Qing's appearance completely changed. He transformed into a 1.8-meter-tall, square-jawed middle-aged man who exuded a formidable aura.
'Good.'
Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction. He vaulted off the roof, landed on the ground below, and rushed toward the source of the cries for help.
Sure enough, Xu Qing saw three Corpse Ghosts. The cries for help had come from a neighboring family of five. An old woman had already been bitten to death, and two of the creatures were now crouched on the ground, devouring her body.
A husband and wife were trying to escape, protecting their son and daughter.
Meanwhile, they were screaming for help.
However, the entire Outer City of Qingbei Town was in chaos. The various gangs, Martial Arts Halls, and others were all fighting Corpse Ghosts, and the Government Office's constables and Patrol Teams were overwhelmed.
CLANG! CLANG!
In the next instant, a flash of silver lightning tore through the night sky. Xu Qing had drawn his sword. With swift and effortless grace, he sliced off a Corpse Ghost's head.
THUD!
The headless body collapsed to the ground.
"!!!"
The husband and wife stared with wide eyes, clutching their son and daughter tightly. They looked at Xu Qing, but could only see a formidable silhouette. He held a sword in his right hand, its tip angled toward the ground. He stood like an unscalable mountain, inspiring both awe and a profound sense of security.
"Th-Thank you, Sir, for saving our lives!"
The husband and wife knelt and kowtowed on the ground.
"Hn."
Xu Qing didn't look back. He just gave a slight nod, then took a step and was gone, cleanly dispatching the other two Corpse Ghosts.
"Find a place to hide. Don't run around anymore," Xu Qing advised.
"Yes, yes, of course."
The husband and wife nodded quickly.
Then, Xu Qing vaulted back onto the roof and left with incredible speed. The husband and wife watched his retreating figure with awe before quickly taking their children to hide.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!
At this moment, Xu Qing was playing the part of an expert with superb Swordsmanship. Thanks to the Evil Ghost Mask, it was difficult to see through his disguise unless someone possessed special methods or a profound Cultivation.
Sword Light flashed everywhere.
Xu Qing struck repeatedly as he made his way toward Chunfeng Tower. Along the way, he slew several Corpse Ghosts and Corpse Monsters before finally arriving.
"Hm?"
Xu Qing didn't enter. Instead, he observed from the outside for a moment and saw that because Chunfeng Tower had hired many guards, the Corpse Ghosts had not yet managed to break in.
However, there were many Corpse Ghosts—twelve in total. Five of them were enhanced Corpse Ghosts, and there was also one Black-haired Zombie. It was only a matter of time before they breached Chunfeng Tower's defenses.
Right now, the people inside Chunfeng Tower were in a state of utter panic.
"What do we do? What do we do? What are we supposed to do now?"
"Oh god!"
"Why are there so many monsters?"
"Where's Xu Qing? Where is he? Wasn't he sent by the Cangying Martial Arts Hall to guard Chunfeng Tower? How come we haven't seen him now that something this big has happened?"
"Don't tell me he ran away?"
Lu Xiao'Er, Sister Chunlan, and Wang Dali spoke one after another.
"Hold them back! Hold them back! You have to hold them back!!!"
Hu Gongquan shouted in terror.
ROAR!!!
In the next instant, the Black-haired Zombie could no longer hold back. It let out a furious roar, its eyes crimson, and charged directly at Chunfeng Tower. In a single clash, it shattered the defensive line of the tower's guards.
"You're courting death!"
SWOOSH!
Xu Qing's gaze was ice-cold. He took a step forward, executing the Snake Body Technique. His speed was extreme, and he moved with incredible agility, as nimble as a slithering snake.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!!
An icy Sword Light flickered.
Xu Qing charged in. To the absolute shock and astonishment of the onlookers, he decapitated the Black-haired Zombie with a single slash.
A one-hit kill.
Keep in mind, before, the Black-haired Zombie had been able to withstand a few moves from Xu Qing. But now that Xu Qing had reached the Peak of Dark Force and mastered the Life-taking Thirteen Swords, the Black-haired Zombie could only be instantly killed.
"Hiss..."
"S-So strong..."
"Wh-Who is he?"
"My god!"
"That's incredible! That was a Black-haired Zombie, and this person decapitated it with a single sword strike! A one-hit kill!"
"Terrifying!"
"So powerful!"
"..."
Inside Chunfeng Tower, everyone had witnessed it with their own eyes. Seeing Xu Qing's power, and how he had instantly killed the Black-haired Zombie with one strike, they were all filled with shock and awe.
"Die!!!"
SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
Xu Qing struck again and again. His Sword Light crisscrossed in the moonlight, forming what looked like a net of blades that killed all twelve of the remaining Corpse Ghosts.
All in all, it took Xu Qing less than two minutes.
"So incredible."
"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives."
"Senior! You're awesome!"
"..."
Everyone cheered, filled with the relief of having survived a disaster. Just moments ago, they thought they were going to die, eaten by those Zombies.
"Hn."
Xu Qing glanced back, his expression indifferent, then looked away again. After confirming that everything was fine at Chunfeng Tower, he left once more.
This time, Xu Qing headed for Qianbao Tower.
「Outside Qianbao Tower.」
As soon as Xu Qing arrived, he saw several familiar faces: Chief Constable Xu Weiran from the Government Office, Zhao Jingyuan, and other constables.
In total, there were five constables from the Government Office and fifty members of the Patrol Team, all commanded by Chief Constable Xu Weiran, who had cordoned off the area around Qianbao Tower.
In addition, Xu Qing saw a mysterious person dressed all in black, with a Copper Token hanging from their waist. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the two words on the token: "Demon Extermination."
'Could they be from the Demon Extermination Agency?' Xu Qing wondered.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!
The roars and snarls grew louder.
It was clear that Qianbao Tower was the source of the disaster on Red Leaf Street. Hordes of Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Black-haired Zombies were pouring out from it, and there was even a White-haired Zombie, a creature more terrifying than the black-haired ones.
If a Black-haired Zombie could only be handled by Anjing Martial Artists, then a White-haired Zombie required a Huajin Martial Artist to deal with. The White-haired Zombie's power was far greater than that of its black-haired counterpart.
A closer look revealed a total of fifty ordinary Corpse Ghosts, fifteen enhanced Corpse Ghosts, five Black-haired Zombies, and one White-haired Zombie. The battle had already begun.
Xu Weiran's side was at a clear disadvantage.
"AH!!!"
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream rang out.
SQUELCH!
Blood splattered.
Xu Qing glanced over and was momentarily stunned. The man was Wang Changye. They had both been members of the Xin Patrol Team, and Xu Qing had even taken the vice-captain position that was originally meant for Wang Changye.
Moreover, during the last incident, Wang Changye had been injured and lost an arm.
Tonight, Wang Changye was ganged up on by two enhanced Corpse Ghosts. Coupled with his missing arm, his strength was greatly diminished, and in a moment of carelessness, his throat was torn open.
SWOOSH!
A Sword Light flashed.
Without hesitation, Xu Qing acted. He shot forward like a sharp sword, plunging directly into the battlefield. With a single slash, he cut off the head of the enhanced Corpse Ghost that was biting Wang Changye.
Another decapitation in one strike.
SPLAT!
Foul-smelling black blood splattered across the ground.
"...S-Senior..."
Wang Changye collapsed. He opened his mouth, but with his throat torn, he could barely speak. The life in his eyes faded, and his gaze slowly went dark.
He was dead.