To save face for himself and his son, Marquis Red Blood actually intended to kill Lin Hao and Eighty-Eight.

And he most certainly had the power to do so.

Although there was an assassin from Netherworld Hall lurking in the shadows, Lin Hao knew that after failing to seriously wound Marquis Red Blood, the assassin had already lost their chance.

After all, Marquis Red Blood was a Soul Gathering Realm expert; he had only been injured because he had let his guard down.

Lin Hao had more or less figured out why the hidden assassin was so mysterious.

The assassin’s cultivation level wasn’t high; it was simply that Netherworld Hall’s unique Cultivation Technique was too sinister.

But even so, they stood no chance against a Soul Gathering Realm expert.

"Lu Xinyuan, kill him!" Marquis Red Blood’s voice was ice-cold. He was referring to Lin Hao.

At that moment, the full might of a Soul Gathering Realm expert’s pressure was on display. Lin Hao found himself locked in place by Marquis Red Blood’s aura, completely unable to move.

He wasn’t the only one; Eighty-Eight was trapped as well.

"Stop!" Meng Qing cried out, her face deathly pale.

But Marquis Red Blood remained unmoved.

Lu Diewu, unable to speak, could only shake her head frantically.

Her response was a sharp slap across the face.

The Little Marquis, who hated Lin Hao to the bone, couldn’t bear to see Lu Diewu’s expression.

A gleeful smile spread across Lu Xinyuan’s face as he thrust a palm strike at Lin Hao.

Lin Hao was an absolute genius—a peerless, once-in-a-generation talent.

And now, this genius was about to fall by his hand!

To personally extinguish such a talent gave Lu Xinyuan a twisted sense of pleasure.

A roar went through Lin Hao’s body as his blood and energy began to churn, fighting against the Soul Gathering Realm expert’s pressure.

As Lu Xinyuan’s palm of True Essence descended upon him, he knew he had to rely on himself.

Lin Hao knew that while Marquis Red Blood’s gaze appeared to be fixed on him, it was actually scanning their entire surroundings. If the assassin from Netherworld Hall revealed themself, they would surely die.

BOOM!

Lu Xinyuan’s palm struck down, but Lin Hao’s body miraculously shifted a foot to the side.

To be able to move at all under the pressure of a Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist—let alone dodge a palm of True Essence—was nothing short of astounding!

Even Marquis Red Blood was stunned.

Just then, an almost imperceptible sound echoed from the void.

In the next instant, Marquis Red Blood flicked his finger.

PFFT!

Though the air was empty, fresh blood splattered forth.

Lin Hao shook his head and sighed inwardly.

’Compared to an old fox like Marquis Red Blood, that assassin is still a bit too naive.’

Lu Xinyuan’s eyes narrowed. His figure shot forward, ready to give chase in that direction.

The assassin’s position had finally been revealed.

"Don’t bother," Marquis Red Blood’s voice rang out, filled with immense confidence. "Anyone struck by my Silence-Shattering Finger is already a dead man!"

’Now that I’ve dealt with your backup, what other tricks could you possibly have?’ Marquis Red Blood thought coldly as he stared at Lin Hao.

Just then, a resolute voice cried out, "Let him go, or all you’ll get is my dead body!"

Meng Qing was standing beside the turtle egg, a dagger pressed to her fair neck.

Meanwhile, Wei Feng was pinned beneath the turtle egg, lying there like a dead dog with lifeless eyes.

With the Wei family’s power broken, he had fallen into despair.

Marquis Red Blood’s eyes went cold, and with another flick of his finger...

...the dagger in Meng Qing’s hand instantly turned to dust. The hilt fell, happening to land right on the turtle egg’s head.

"OW... Dammit, who the hell hit me?! Can’t a guy get some sleep around here?! Hey, beauty, you know who did it?" the turtle egg shouted in a roguish tone.

Meng Qing reached out, pointing at Marquis Red Blood. At the same time, her face filled with desperation as she pleaded, "I beg you, please save young Lin Hao."

She was so desperate that she was asking a turtle for help—a perfect example of trying anything in a crisis.

Hearing this, the Little Marquis sneered, "Hoping a stupid turtle will save him? By the time it crawls over, that kid will have died a thousand times over. I think you’d be better off thinking about how you’re going to serve my father."

"I won’t let you live to see the end of this day!" On the other side, Marquis Red Blood’s killing intent flared.

The woman he desired was threatening suicide to save another man. It was like pouring oil on the fire.

Like a loyal lapdog, Lu Xinyuan shot forward at the command, personally striking out with a palm aimed at Lin Hao.

This time, Marquis Red Blood increased his pressure severalfold, and Lin Hao’s body was completely frozen.

A flash of delight crossed Lu Xinyuan’s face.

BOOM!

The next instant, his palm slammed solidly into something.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

He stumbled back several steps before managing to regain his footing.

When he focused his gaze, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

A turtle was standing in front of Lin Hao. His palm had struck its shell directly.

"Kid, you’re useless! Can’t even handle this trash? I’m ashamed to have a master like you," the turtle egg lectured, standing upright on two legs like a person.

The scene stunned everyone.

This turtle was just too bizarre.

Lu Xinyuan, in particular, was horrified.

He alone knew the power behind that last palm strike.

The full force of the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm had slammed into the turtle’s shell, yet he was the one sent reeling while the turtle was completely unharmed.

Marquis Red Blood’s expression changed. He suddenly struck out, his palm aimed at the turtle egg.

The next moment, Marquis Red Blood’s face drained of color. He felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen solid.

And then, the turtle egg slowly turned, its eyes locking onto him.

Without any warning, Marquis Red Blood felt a terrifying, boundless aura envelop him.

Then, his entire body became immobilized.

Immobilized!

The laws of the Martial Dao!

This had to be the power of the Martial Dao’s laws!

To immobilize a Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist with a single glance—how terrifying was that?!

Marquis Red Blood couldn’t begin to fathom it.

"Kid, what are you gawking at? Hurry up and tie them up! Honestly, you ruined my perfectly good nap."

The turtle egg said to Lin Hao, glancing back.

Lin Hao could see the weakness in its eyes.

Without another moment of hesitation, Lin Hao sprang into action, striking out in quick succession.

With even the Soul Gathering Realm expert immobilized, Lu Xinyuan, the Patriarch of the Ling family, and the Little Marquis naturally couldn’t escape.

Lin Hao moved, sealing the cultivation of each of them.

Thanks to the turtle egg’s single glance, the situation had been completely reversed.

But the turtle egg just yawned, slowly crawled back onto Wei Feng’s back, and promptly fell fast asleep.

Eighty-Eight stared at it, his face a mask of awe.

A Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist, immobilized with a single glance and then captured without a fight.

It was terrifying.

"Young Master Lin, what should we do with them?" Eighty-Eight asked, walking up to Lin Hao’s side.

"What else? We kill them," Lin Hao said as casually as if he were taking a sip of water.

Eighty-Eight froze, unable to believe his ears.

This was a marquis, the revered lord of an entire county.

And Lin Hao was talking about killing him just like that.

’How arrogant can you get?’

"Th-that’s not a good idea, is it?" Eighty-Eight stammered nervously.

Though he had grown up in the Wenren family, one of the four great families of the empire, and had witnessed many grand events, he had never even heard of someone killing a county marquis, let alone seen it happen.

And crucially, the one planning to kill the marquis was a mere Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist.

If word of this got out, the entire continent would be shaken.

"I am a marquis personally enfeoffed by the Monarch himself. If you dare kill me, you make an enemy of the entire empire. Not even the Wenren family could protect you then!" Marquis Red Blood sneered, seeing Eighty-Eight’s expression.

He didn’t believe Lin Hao would dare to kill him.

"The Monarch? The Monarch of the Cangnan Kingdom? It seems your information is a bit out of date," Lin Hao said with a grin.

"What do you mean by that?" Marquis Red Blood asked, not understanding.

At this, the Patriarch of the Ling family’s face changed drastically.

"Young Master Lin, I didn’t attack! And we’re family, you can’t kill me!" The Patriarch of the Ling family had remembered something, and he suddenly realized Lin Hao truly had the guts to do it.

"Family?"

"Yes, yes! My son, Ling Xiao, is a disciple of the Heaven-Stepping Sect Leader, just like you. We’re from the same sect! We’re family," the Patriarch of the Ling family nodded frantically.

"I suppose that’s true," Lin Hao nodded, and then released the Patriarch of the Ling family.

Lin Hao bore no ill will toward Ling Xiao. In fact, when he learned that Ling Xiao had entered the Demon Suppression Cave, his respect for him had grown.

The Patriarch’s presence here, while selfishly motivated, was ultimately harmless.

"Thank you, thank you," the Patriarch of the Ling family said repeatedly.

Marquis Red Blood, on the other hand, was growing uneasy.

He knew of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, and the name left a deep impression.

According to reliable sources, the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch Cang Yan, who had slapped the Monarch across the face in Jinluan Hall forty years ago, was from the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

Since Lin Hao was also from the Heaven-Stepping Sect, perhaps he really would dare to kill him.

"As far as I know, the Heaven-Stepping Sect is a shadow of its former self, reduced to a third-rate sect. Your sect will never produce another figure like the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch. If you dare to kill me, not only will the Heaven-Stepping Sect face annihilation, but your family will also be wiped from the empire’s records!"

Marquis Red Blood spoke again, his tone lacking its earlier conviction.

Lin Hao smiled. "If I let you go today, would you just let this go? No. So, you might as well die."

As soon as the words fell, Lin Hao moved.

The next instant, a head flew high into the air.

Marquis Red Blood, the revered lord of a county, bled out against the sky, his blood splashing across Celestial Jade City.

Eighty-Eight, Meng Qing, and Lu Diewu stared wide-eyed, their faces etched with shock.

After a moment of shock, Lu Xinyuan and the Little Marquis turned deathly pale and began to tremble.

The Patriarch of the Ling family couldn’t help but touch his own neck, a look of lingering fear on his face.

No one had expected Lin Hao to be so decisive.

That was a county marquis!

But it wasn’t over. Lin Hao’s gaze fell upon the Little Marquis and Lu Xinyuan.

"N-no, Young Master Lin, Lin—" Lu Xinyuan’s voice trembled.

But before he could finish, Lin Hao struck.

Right there, in the plaza of the City Lord’s Mansion, Lu Xinyuan of the Lu family died.

Another expert had fallen.

THUD!

The Little Marquis’s legs gave out from fear. He collapsed to the ground and was about to kowtow.

But Lin Hao was utterly decisive, ending his life with a single palm strike.

At this moment, Lin Hao struck without mercy, like a god of death.

His swift and brutal decisiveness shocked everyone present.

"Y-Young Master Lin, I... I have some urgent business, so I’ll be... taking my leave. You’re... you’re welcome to visit the Ling family anytime," the Patriarch of the Ling family said, his legs trembling slightly and his voice quavering.

Lin Hao nodded with a faint smile.

The Patriarch of the Ling family turned and fled, disappearing in the blink of an eye, with none of the bearing befitting the head of a great family.

Shaking himself from his shock, Eighty-Eight quickly undid the restraints on Lu Diewu.

"B-Brother-in-law... you killed them all. The Lu family is going to be in terrible trouble," Lu Diewu said, her face ghostly pale.

With the Marquis of Chijing County and his son dead, the Lu family would definitely be implicated.

"Lu Dieyi broke off our engagement. Everyone in the Southern Border Prefecture knows that. Only a fool would think I have any connection to the Lu family," Lin Hao replied.

Although he hated the people of the Lu family, especially Lu Dieyi, he disdained using such a vile, indirect method to get them killed.

Though his words were tinged with sarcasm, they also made his stance perfectly clear.