Chen Xinglong snorted coldly, drew the long saber from his waist, and slashed at the incoming Sword Energy.

BAM!

He was instantly blasted back several meters, his arm numb from the impact.

An old man dressed in samurai garb with wooden clogs on his feet appeared in everyone’s line of sight. The steel saber in his hand, specially made in the Yang Country, glinted coldly. The aura he emitted was so powerful it made one’s heart pound. Even the Dragon Soul members, who were used to intense situations, felt goosebumps prickle their skin.

"Mr. Yamaguchi!" Jin Nanxi shrieked. "He’s the one who ruined our plans! He even killed Mr. Miyamoto! You must not let him get away with this!"

Yamaguchi Tendao’s gaze fixed on Chen Xiao, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes. A youth from the Divine Land this powerful... If left alive, he will certainly become a future threat.

"Boy, you trespassed on the Ghost Medical Sect’s territory today and injured my countrymen. You cannot escape the death penalty for this!" Yamaguchi Tendao declared, each word deliberate as the terrifying power of his Grandmaster Peak cultivation erupted from him.

The moment his aura flared, the Dragon Soul members scrambled backward, feeling a terrifying blade intent begin to gather.

The next instant, Yamaguchi Tendao attacked. His sharp saber fell with a fierce and overbearing momentum, unleashing countless streams of Sword Energy that surrounded Chen Xiao from all sides.

However, Chen Xiao merely snorted and slowly raised his longsword. With a single, simple thrust, he shattered every stream of Sword Energy in his path. His blade moved like a bolt of light, striking the steel saber with pinpoint precision.

In that instant, Yamaguchi Tendao felt the web of his hand go numb, the impact nearly sending his saber flying. He was horrified. Such terrifying strength.

"All flash and no substance," Chen Xiao’s indifferent voice drifted out as his blade pierced Yamaguchi Tendao’s neck like a phantom.

"You—" Yamaguchi Tendao’s eyes bulged in disbelief. A savage expression suddenly twisted his features as he made one last, desperate struggle, raising his saber to strike Chen Xiao down. But Chen Xiao simply kicked him.

His body instantly burst apart, splattering against the wall and turning into a pulp of flesh and blood.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. The Dragon Soul members stared as if they had just seen a ghost.

Chen Xiao patted the stunned Chen Xinglong on the shoulder. "The rest is up to you," he said. "There shouldn’t be anyone formidable left."

Chen Xinglong nodded dumbly, taking several seconds to recover before shouting, "Take all these people away! Seal off this area! Search for evidence!"

Chen Xiao stepped further inside, only to discover there was more to the Ghost Medical Sect’s headquarters than met the eye. In a room deep within, he found a secret passage.

He smashed open the entrance and stepped through. A foul stench immediately assailed his nostrils, and he frowned. Hearing faint cries for help from within, he had no choice but to press forward.

When he saw his compatriots in the secret chamber—imprisoned and tortured until they were barely recognizable as human—a terrifying killing intent ignited in his heart. These monsters! It seemed that the recent special patient cases in Zhonghai were indeed the work of the Ghost Medical Sect, and these imprisoned people were their test subjects. Seeing his people treated this way, Chen Xiao’s eyes turned blood-red.

To think these people from the Yang Country would dare to be so rampant within Shen Zhou Territory! It’s hard to imagine just how brutal they must be in places unseen.

Xu Yanran ground her teeth. "These bastards deserve to die! Their country and people should be annihilated!"

Chen Xiao took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Have your men come down and rescue them."

After dealing with the first branch, a furious Chen Xiao led the Dragon Soul members straight to the other two. This time, he showed no mercy. Every move he made was a killing blow, taking a life with every step and staining his longsword crimson. There was nothing to discuss with these animals. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

In less than an hour, the other two branches of the Ghost Medical Sect were also completely annihilated. Within the secret passages of these two branches, Chen Xiao rescued several more of his compatriots who had been secretly abducted. After checking their pulses, he discovered that all of them carried a special, highly contagious toxin. If it were to spread, the death toll would be unimaginable.

The eyes of the Dragon Soul members were bloodshot, wishing for nothing more than to flay the remaining people of the Yang Country alive.

Chen Xiao took a deep breath, his cold gaze falling on the captives from the first branch. "Take them back and ’take good care’ of them. Make sure they don’t die too easily. Try to extract as much information as you can."

"Yes!" Chen Xinglong and the others nodded emphatically.

Jin Nanxi’s face went deathly pale, and she wailed, "It really has nothing to do with me! I don’t know anything... They did all of this! I wasn’t involved!" At this moment, she was finally, truly terrified.

Chen Xiao stared at her coldly. "As a key figure in the Ghost Medical Sect, you must know a great deal. We’ll make you spill every last drop of it.

"And be sure to give her some... special attention."

At Chen Xiao’s command, the Dragon Soul members dragged the sobbing and pleading Jin Nanxi into a vehicle. What awaited her was a fate worse than death.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao glanced at Xu Yanran. "I almost forgot about the fish that slipped through the net. Have you found where those other two are staying?"

"Found it!"

"Then let’s go."

***

In a high-end manor elsewhere in Zhonghai, Watanabe Ichiba and Jiang Tianquan were petrified. They had just received news that all three Ghost Medical Sect branches had been slaughtered, and the one leading the attack was Chen Xiao himself. The thought of his ruthless methods sent a chill down their spines.

"We have to leave Zhonghai immediately!" Jiang Tianquan said in terror. "That lunatic has gone completely berserk! We’re next!"

Watanabe Ichiba nodded, his face grim as he fought to appear calm. Inwardly, however, he was more panicked than anyone. People from the Yang Country were supposed to be safe within Shen Zhou Territory. Barring special circumstances, they were treated as foreign guests. But now Dragon Soul had struck them down without hesitation. This proved that with their crimes exposed, his status as a Yang Country Young Master was useless.

They scrambled out of the living room, desperate to get to a car and flee.

Suddenly, a series of utterly chilling screams echoed from outside, followed by the metallic scent of fresh blood drifting in. A blood-soaked Yang Country Warrior staggered in. "Young Master, run... quickly... run!" he gasped, before a foot stomped down, crushing him to death.

Chen Xiao stepped over the corpse and walked in, his expression impassive. Fresh blood dripped from the tip of his sword.

Jiang Tianquan and Watanabe Ichiba’s hearts seized, and they stumbled backward in fear.

Chen Xiao stared at them coldly. "Did you really think you could escape today?"