The atmosphere was like a drawn blade — taut to the breaking point, ready to snap.

Fuqi let his killing aura pour out in full. He had the bearing of a man who could hold a pass alone against ten thousand enemies.

He had come from the military, hardened across countless battlefields. Blood and killing instinct ran deep in him — and since taking up the Ghost Path, his killing power had grown stronger with every passing day. Now that his presence had swelled to its full extent, the aura of cold slaughter made people’s hearts tremble and fail.

Everyone stared with terror-filled eyes at the man dressed in a simple black robe, their legs quaking so violently they could not take a step forward.

What made them even more afraid was this: he wore nothing but a plain black robe — and yet it seemed as though they were looking at a terrifying suit of black battle armor, the kind worn by a soldier of carnage. His features became indistinct; his dark eyes appeared to contain two clusters of ghostfire burning within them, a light so brilliant it was also a cold so deep it pierced the soul.

He simply stood at the top of the steps before the main gate, hands clasped behind his back. The icy-cold aura radiating from him seemed to devour the light of the surrounding world, making the dark energy swirling around him appear ever thicker and more dense — like a battle-hardened warrior general standing upon a field of slaughter.

Was this still a human being?

Could a killing pressure this terrifying belong to an ordinary military officer?

Without saying a single word, merely allowing the pure and restrained force of killing intent from his gaze to spread where it fell — this alone caused the soldiers at Li Chengzhang’s back to instinctively retreat two steps. Their souls felt as though they were being pierced by needles, and their faces went chalk-white.

“What are you all standing there for? Take him down!” Li Chengzhang erupted in fury, then glared at Xiao An: “Is Commander Xiao also planning to side with the demon cultivator, openly defying the imperial edict?”

Xiao An said nothing. He simply fixed his alert, guarded gaze upon Fuqi.

“I’ll say it once more: if you want the Lang Family, have the dog-emperor come himself. Anyone who dares to trespass — dies!” Fuqi regarded Xiao An with ice-cold eyes. His voice was low and hoarse, carrying with it a bone-piercing chill.

Xiao An’s brow furrowed deeply. Under the gaze of everyone present, this man actually dared to call the emperor a dog-emperor — was this outright rebellion?

“Rebellion — this is rebellion!” Li Chengzhang snarled viciously. “Not only do you show no respect to the sovereign, you openly insult him — this is a crime punishable by death! Arrest them all!”

This was too brazen. The Lang Family people actually dared to insult His Majesty — this was digging their own graves, seeking their own deaths. Go ahead and curse, curse louder — die faster!

“Quickly, get…” Li Chengzhang’s eyes gleamed with excitement, but the word ‘them’ had not yet left his mouth before his gaze met Fuqi’s eyes, and his very soul felt as though it were being torn apart in searing agony. Before him, it was as though an endless mountain of corpses and river of blood materialized, with countless grievance-filled ghosts surging toward him — and then the world spun, the sky and ground traded places, and his entire body was launched into the air, flung up to the rooftop, where he then rolled and tumbled off the edge. He hit the ground with a heavy, dull thud. He vomited a mouthful of fresh blood and lost consciousness.

“Noise.” Fuqi let out a cold snort. Then he looked at the rest of them: “Who’s next?”

Everyone stared with shocked, horrified eyes and retreated another step. None of them had seen how he moved — all they saw was the deputy commander fly up to the rooftop.

One of Li Chengzhang’s personal soldiers swallowed his inner terror and screamed in outward bravado: “How dare you — defying the edict is one thing, but you actually attack a court official! You are utterly beyond redemption. As accomplices of the demon cultivator, you are all demon spirits and devils, and you deserve to be exterminated — ahhh…”

He too went flying.

Xiao An had no choice but to step forward. He spoke in a steady voice: “Does this gentleman truly intend to defy the imperial edict outright and lead the Lang Family in rebellion? The Lang Family members are ordinary people, unlike you with your spiritual powers. You can withdraw at any moment — they cannot. Once imperial fury is provoked, they will die. By doing this, you are cutting off their path to survival.”

“As long as the dog-emperor dies, that settles it.” Fuqi regarded him with a calm, indifferent gaze. “Actually — no. The emperor currently sitting in the palace is nothing but a demon spirit inhabiting a stolen body. He is by no means the Jian’an Emperor of old!”

Xiao An’s face went white.

Fuqi had said this plainly and loudly. Everyone present in the outer area heard every word. For a moment, thoughts tumbled over one another — shock mingled with bewilderment.

Could something this astounding actually be true? Was this world no longer the world of ordinary people, but a world belonging to demons, malevolent spirits, and Dao cultivators?

“Spreading seditious falsehoods — this is a crime punishable by death!”

Suddenly, a sharp cry laced with a pure and righteous energy came attacking toward Fuqi.

“Let this old Daoist deal with this demon! The rest of you — quickly enter the compound and seize the people.”

The newcomer held a Nine-Yin Eight-Trigram Mirror and threw it out toward Fuqi. He was none other than Daoist Bafang, who had served at the Holy Maiden’s side.

He had been dispatched here under Tantai Wuji’s instructions, guarding against exactly this scenario — that the Lang Family would defy the imperial edict. And so it had proven.

Daoist Bafang came with fierce momentum. The Eight-Trigram Mirror suddenly shot forth a beam of golden light aimed straight at Fuqi’s spiritual core — that upright and majestic aura made Fuqi’s entire being tense. His eyes sharpened like blades, his divine soul drew taut, and the killing power stored within his soul-body ceased its suppression. Rapidly it converged, transforming into a world-ending blade of supreme ferocity that burst from its sheath with a thunderous crack, piercing through the beam of golden light and striking at the Eight-Trigram Mirror.

The golden light scattered — yet it reformed into countless gossamer threads that stabbed into Fuqi’s divine soul. The sharp pain was like sunfire searing him; his body staggered slightly.

Yet the killing power he had unleashed with full force had likewise struck the Eight-Trigram Mirror, and with a sharp crack, the mirror’s surface fractured. A thread of black blood seeped from the corner of Daoist Bafang’s mouth; he stumbled back several paces, his complexion withered and darkened.

This fierce figure was truly difficult to deal with!

Meanwhile, Xiao An led the soldiers at his back charging into the compound — they had broken through the vermilion gates by force and were about to storm inside, when abruptly, a tiger’s roar erupted, shaking heaven and earth.

“ROAR!”

Before everyone’s eyes, everything went white. Atop the rooftop of the marquis’s compound, no one knew when it had appeared — a magnificent, extraordinary great beast, its entire coat of hard fur a pure, brilliant white. Upon its forehead was a golden marking in the shape of the character for king. Its amber beast-eyes were cold and merciless, regarding the people below with supreme contempt, before it let loose another ear-splitting roar — a sound like thunderclaps — making all hearts recoil in fear.

It crouched and leaped downward, landing upon the surrounding wall of the compound, then began pacing in the measured strides of a tiger. It launched no attacks — it merely bared its teeth slightly, revealing fangs sharp as daggers, and allowed a ferocious and murderous aura belonging to the king of all beasts to radiate outward. In an instant, men toppled and horses reared in chaos.

“A white tiger — a great white tiger!” An unknown voice screamed out, though it was quickly swallowed by the frantic shrieking of the warhorses — more panicked even than the people — as they reared, kicked, and bolted. Several commoners caught unawares were knocked to the ground, sending up waves of pained cries.

The horses had panicked.

Before the gates, all was chaos.

Daoist Bafang’s gray-white eyes ‘looked’ in Jiangche’s direction, and his expression shifted through several changes. His hands trembled slightly.

The Lang Family actually had a white tiger as protector. It had not yet reached the level of a divine beast — but the spiritual energy surrounding its body told him this white tiger had already cultivated intelligence and developed spiritual awareness. The kingly majesty it exuded and the ferocity it held in check with every casual pace of its steps alone was enough to send cold fear running through people.

This tiger had already become a spirit-beast. Given time, if it completed its cultivation and endured the heavenly tribulation, it might one day truly become the White Tiger Divine Beast.

A spirit-beast with the potential to become a divine beast…

A gleam of covetous desire appeared in Daoist Bafang’s eyes — but his expression grew all the more grave. Lang Jiuchuan had assistance of this caliber, making her truly difficult to deal with. National Preceptor — did he know?

If he could obtain it, tame it, then…

“All disciples, hear my command — form the formation! Subdue this demon beast!” Daoist Bafang’s voice rang out in a sharp shout.

“Yes!”

Come then — Jiangche bared his fangs. Today he would make sure at least a few mouthfuls of human flesh were caught between his teeth.

“Stand down!” A steady yet commanding voice rang out from the mouth of the alleyway.