SWISH SWISH SWISH—!

An even denser and more ferocious barrage of starlight needles descended like a sudden squall, completely cutting off any room for the two men to dodge!

Glints of deadly cold light flashed from the needles as they shot in from impossibly cunning angles, ignoring the doors and windows to strike with unerring precision at the major acupoints on their bodies!

This was none other than Chen Qing, unleashing his Nine Luminaries Starlight Needle with full force!

Too fast!

Too sudden!

Though the two men frantically waved their arms and channeled their True Qi to parry, the Power embedded in each Flying Needle was incredibly concentrated, and their trajectories were completely unpredictable.

PFFT! PFFT!

Zhang Qian grunted, a needle striking his left shoulder and another his right leg. The fierce Qi Force attached to the needles instantly pierced his meridians, causing half his body to go numb and his movements to become sluggish.

Bai Qingquan fared even worse. His Cultivation was slightly weaker, and though he tried his best to dodge, one needle pierced through his palm while another grazed his neck, leaving behind a thin line of blood. The close call scared him out of his wits.

"There’s someone outside the window!"

"Who goes there, friend? We can talk this..."

Zhang Qian grit his teeth against the searing pain, trying to probe for information and perhaps stall for time.

But his only answer was another, even denser and more ferocious, volley of starlight Flying Needles!

This time, the Flying Needles weren’t a test; they were a killing blow!

All nine needles shot out at once, like a cascading river of stars, sealing off any possible escape route!

Terrified beyond belief, the two men pushed their Body Techniques to the absolute limit, throwing tables and chairs in a desperate attempt to block the attack. The hall was instantly thrown into chaos.

However, the sharpness of the Flying Needles was far beyond what they had imagined.

SHRED!

In a moment of carelessness, Zhang Qian was struck in the chest by three Flying Needles in a triangular pattern. They pierced right through his Protective True Qi with ease!

"GACK!"

His body trembled violently as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His eyes filled with incredulous horror, and his aura rapidly faded.

Bai Qingquan took two needles to the thigh and lower abdomen. He let out a piercing scream, staggered, and collapsed to the ground as blood rapidly stained his robes.

Severely wounded!

In just two volleys of Flying Needles, the two men who had been arguing over how to divide their spoils moments before had completely lost their ability to fight back!

Only then did they truly understand that their attacker’s strength was far beyond their imagination. His purpose was clear: he had come to kill them without exception! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

BOOM!

The door and windows of the living room blasted inward!

Amidst the flying splinters, a figure darted inside like a phantom!

The newcomer’s movements were astonishingly fast. He landed without a sound, like a flickering shadow.

It was none other than Chen Qing, in disguise and a change of clothes!

He didn’t waste a single word, giving the two men no opportunity to beg for mercy or ask questions.

The moment he entered, he swerved and lunged at Zhang Qian, who was less severely injured and still trying to struggle.

Zhang Qian roared as he desperately gathered his True Qi, thrusting out both palms, which glowed with a black light. The force from his palms carried a corrosive, sinister chill—clearly, his Cultivation Technique was not of the Righteous Path!

However, Chen Qing neither dodged nor evaded. He formed a sword-finger with his right hand and, striking first despite moving second, jabbed his fingertips—condensed with highly compressed Cyan Wood True Qi—precisely at the source of the power in Zhang Qian’s palm!

CRACK!

A sharp crack echoed as Zhang Qian felt an irresistible Power surge into his arm, crushing it like a dead branch. His wrist bone shattered instantly!

He let out a pained scream, his Palm Power completely cut off before it could be fully unleashed.

Without the slightest pause, Chen Qing’s fingers continued their forward momentum and tapped him directly between the eyebrows!

The motion was clean and decisive, without a single wasted movement!

The look of horror and defiance in Zhang Qian’s eyes froze. His body went limp and collapsed, his life extinguished.

Having dispatched one man, Chen Qing spun like a whirlwind toward Bai Qingquan, who was lying helpless on the floor.

Bai Qingquan, already scared witless, hurriedly cried out, "Spare me, brother! We can talk about this! The silver... I’ll give you all the silver! I—"

Chen Qing’s eyes were like ice. ’For scum like this who prey on heirless families, I feel not a shred of pity.’

He executed the Startled Swan Escape Shadow Technique to evade Bai Qingquan’s Palm Force, then landed a precise knife-hand strike on his throat!

"Ugh..."

Bai Qingquan’s pleas for mercy came to an abrupt halt. His head lolled to one side, and he fell silent forever.

From crashing through the window to killing both men, the entire process took no more than three or four breaths. It was suffocatingly fast.

Chen Qing stood still for a moment, calming the roiling True Qi within his body.

Wasting no more time, he quickly retrieved his Nine Luminaries Starlight Needle, searched the two corpses, and gathered all the valuables and silver notes from the table.

After confirming he hadn’t missed anything, he took a Porcelain Bottle from his robes, uncorked it, and carefully poured Bone-Dissolving Powder over the two corpses.

HSSSSSS...

The sound of corrosion sizzled through the air, accompanied by wisps of white smoke. The two corpses, clothes and all, melted away at a rate visible to the naked eye, eventually becoming a puddle of murky yellow fluid that slowly seeped into the cracks between the floorboards.

Once that was done, Chen Qing carefully inspected the scene, wiping away any subtle traces he might have left behind. Then, with a flicker of his body, he vanished from the courtyard.

.....