"Leng Yi, you’re being rather unappreciative."

"And you, Leng! Our patience is running thin!"

Outside the No-Name Inn in Wuming Town, Zhang Hu and Zhao Long stood side by side, blocking Leng Yi, who was trying to sneak away. Their voices were ice-cold.

"Zhao Long, don’t think I don’t know it was your scheming that led to Cang Jue’s attack on Ning Xuan! Move aside!"

Since Leng Yi had laid it bare, Zhao Long dropped the pretense and admitted it outright.

"So what if it was me? We can’t return alive from this trip anyway, so you’d better be sensible! If you push me, I’ll kill you too!"

Leng Yi’s pupils shrank. He realized he couldn’t muster any Element Force.

"You..."

Leng Yi was furious, but before he could say another word, Zhao Long cut him off.

"What ’you’? How can you blame me for this? If anyone’s to blame, it’s that bastard Ning Xuan! I had no past grievances or recent quarrels with him, yet he dared to touch my woman! If he doesn’t die, who should?!"

Just then, a voice suddenly interjected, "Then you should."

Zhao Long and Zhang Hu immediately snapped into a defensive stance. However, when Zhao Long saw who the newcomer was, his face instantly broke into a smile. He relaxed and even stepped forward to greet the man, "Sect Master Huang, what brings you here?"

The arrival was, of course, Huang Bingyin from the Corpse Moving Sect.

Huang Bingyin stated emotionlessly, "I’m short-handed."

"Short-handed? That’s easy to fix, I can help you..."

Before Zhao Long could finish, Huang Bingyin interrupted him. "No need. I’ve already found them."

"You’ve found them? Where are they?" Zhao Long asked as he glanced around.

The surroundings were pitch-dark. Aside from the three of them, there wasn’t another soul in sight, not even a ghostly shadow.

It was Zhang Hu whose expression stiffened. He asked tentatively, "You aren’t talking about Zhao Long and me, are you?"

Zhao Long’s eyes widened in realization.

Huang Bingyin didn’t speak but simply extended his hand. Though they didn’t understand, the two men were intimidated.

"I would like to borrow your tokens for a moment."

Hearing this, both men took a step back as if facing a formidable enemy.

Zhao Long said, "Sect Master Huang, this joke of yours isn’t funny at all..."

Before he could finish, both his and Zhang Hu’s faces changed drastically. From each of Huang Bingyin’s shoulders, a ghostly claw had extended! That wasn’t the most shocking part. The most shocking part was that each ghostly claw held a token!

The two were aghast. Their first reaction was to check if their own tokens were still on them. Immediately, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Their tokens were still there.

"Sect Master Huang, you’ve taken this joke too far. You’ve already won, and I’m sure you’ve gotten some nasty ’treasures’ from Ning Xuan by now. This behavior doesn’t befit the leader of a sect."

With their tokens seemingly safe, Zhao Long’s tone naturally grew bolder.

To his surprise, he saw an eerie smile spread across Huang Bingyin’s face. At the same time, the ghostly claws on Huang Bingyin’s shoulders reappeared, still holding the two tokens. But this time, the ghostly claws tapped the two tokens together, producing a crisp, pleasant sound.

At that moment, Huang Bingyin nudged his chin toward Zhao Long.

Zhao Long and Zhang Hu’s expressions changed dramatically. They took out their own tokens to inspect them.

Just as they feared.

Their tokens had been switched!

BANG!

Zhao Long attacked instantly. In the end, he only managed to crush one of the ghostly claws behind Huang Bingyin. The token it held vanished without a trace.

"Sect Master Huang, I’ve already paid you. Please stop messing with me," Zhao Long said, barely suppressing his murderous intent while his face wore a fawning smile. "Ning... Ning Xuan is quite a tough nut to crack."

"He’s tough, but you still took him down. Besides, Ning Xuan is just trash who’s barely entered the Holy Realm. You could deal with him with one hand..."

Hearing his words grow more and more outrageous, Huang Bingyin didn’t dare let him continue and quickly stepped aside.

The next moment, Zhao Long was stunned.

He saw Ning Xuan.

The same Ning Xuan who should have been killed and refined into a Corpse Soldier was standing right there, alive and well. And he was holding a token in his hand!

"Are you... a human or a ghost?!" Zhao Long asked, barely containing his terror.

Ning Xuan ignored him, instead turning to Leng Yi, who was leaning against a wall behind them. "Brother Leng, didn’t you say losing our tokens meant we’d be eliminated? Why hasn’t anything happened?"

Before Leng Yi could answer, Zhao Long snapped back to his senses. In an instant, he appeared beside Leng Yi, grabbed his throat, and hissed fiercely, "I don’t care if you’re a human or a ghost! Give me back my token now, or he dies!"

Ning Xuan still ignored him and looked toward Zhang Hu.

Zhang Hu wasn’t as bold as Zhao Long. Seeing Ning Xuan’s gaze fall on him, he dropped to his knees with a thud and begged for mercy. "Ning Xuan, Brother Ning, this had nothing to do with me! It was all Zhao Long’s idea! You can’t pin this on an innocent person."

"Really?"

Zhang Hu was about to swear an oath when Ning Xuan suddenly tossed Zhang Hu’s token back to him.

After a moment of shock, Zhang Hu lunged at Zhao Long!

Zhao Long never saw it coming, and by the time he reacted, it was too late. Not only did he lose his hostage, but he was also sent flying by a palm strike. Without a second thought, Zhao Long fled into the distance.

As he fled, he was still shouting threats. "Ning Xuan, I’ll never share the same sky as..."

He never finished his sentence.

BANG!

Zhao Long’s body exploded into a bloody mist.

The surviving Zhang Hu witnessed this. His face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Ning Xuan stared at the spot where Zhao Long’s body had exploded and muttered to himself, "So, it seems there’s a distance limit."

Behind him, Huang Bingyin hesitated, but he still couldn’t help but speak up. "Young Master Ning, you promised me before..."

Ning Xuan said nothing, merely glancing at Zhang Hu on the ground.

Zhang Hu’s face changed drastically, and he opened his mouth to speak.

CRACK!

A pair of ghostly claws appeared from nowhere and snapped Zhang Hu’s neck.

Ning Xuan was no saint. Both of these men had plotted to kill him; why would he spare Zhang Hu’s life?

With Zhang Hu dead, Ning Xuan, without a second glance, supported Leng Yi as they headed into the inn.

Behind them, Huang Bingyin opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Ning Xuan is terrifying. The fact that I’m still alive is a gift. If I dare make any more demands now, I’m afraid I’ll end up just like Zhang Hu! Forget it, forget it. I’d better go back and manage my sect. It’s best to stay far, far away from people like that. However, before that, I could go on a nice little looting spree. After all, having been fleeced by Ning Xuan, I’m as poor as a church mouse right now.

After Huang Bingyin left, Ning Xuan and Leng Yi entered the inn. At that very moment, on a distant rooftop, a figure cradling a wine jug sat up and chuckled softly. "A Law Enforcement Officer colluding with an outsider to murder his own comrade... Interesting. Truly interesting."

After speaking, the figure vanished in a flash.

「A few moments later.」

In a courtyard in Wuming Town, the hushed voices of four people could be heard.