Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 164 The attacker dies first

"Follow your heart."

Daliang City, Wanhua Tower.

Xiu Yuan sensed the commotion downstairs and spoke softly.

In life, we often face choices, and almost everyone tries to maximize their advantages and minimize their disadvantages, striving for a better option.

But afterwards, many people regret not choosing another path. In his view, these people never understood why they chose that path in the first place. It was more because their perspective at the time only allowed them to see that one side of the scenery. It wasn't that they didn't want to choose something better, but that they had no other choice.

However, when a person actually chooses another path, they often feel dissatisfied.

Greed is not enough to swallow an elephant.

This is human nature.

When someone doesn't know how to choose, perhaps following one's heart is the best option. Therefore, Xiu Yuan doesn't intend to make the choice for this girl. As intelligent as she is, she should have already guessed many things.

For example, the man who saved her back then didn't happen to be there by chance, but was there because of a mission, and saving her might just be a moment of compassion that arose in his heart.

The people who massacred Chenjia Village and those who saved her were likely the same group. War is never a joke. From the other side's perspective, there is no right or wrong, only victory or defeat.

Because the winner takes all.

For example, who should she aim her sword at? The dead Qin soldiers, the assassins of the Luo Wang (a secret police organization), or the high-ranking officials and nobles of Wei?

But whether it's these Qin soldiers, the assassins of the Luo Net, or even the Shadow Guards, they are merely tools in the eyes of those in power. And what happened in Chenjia Village is something those in power may not even know.

What's the point of trying to confirm an answer that never existed with those people?

According to the original timeline, Xiaoyaozi, the leader of the Human Sect, and Xiaomeng, who had become the leader of the Heavenly Sect, had a conversation in which Xiaomeng quoted the saying "You can't talk about ice with a summer insect."

Different dimensions are like two completely unconnected worlds, with no common language whatsoever.

"Follow your heart."

Xiaomeng murmured softly, a thought stirring in her heart.

She turned around and glanced at the boy behind her, then reached out and flicked her wrist, drawing the peach sword into her hand. She then looked at the Wei general who was still under hypnosis.

"Buzz!"

With her true energy flowing in, the peach sword trembled slightly, and a sword light pierced out from the tip. Xiaomeng moved lightly and arrived in front of Li Qing.

Watching Xiaomeng's retreating figure, Xiuyuan stood to the side, a storm raging deep within her eyes. Like thunder in silence, or the changing seasons in bloom, she had finally taken this step.

Just then, the Imperial Guards downstairs seemed to notice something amiss, and several of them began rushing toward the fifth floor.

Xiu Yuan gently raised his hand and pressed down in the air. A surge of powerful internal energy erupted from the air, and the terrifying palm force, like Mount Tai pressing down, struck down horizontally, sending the imperial guards who were rushing up to the fifth floor flying.

The force of the palm strike was still strong, and with a crack, the stairs were snapped in two. Many of the guests and girls in the lobby screamed in surprise at the sight.

Although many of them were members of the martial arts world, they had never seen anything like it before. Of course, there were also some seasoned veterans who, upon seeing the staircase snapped in two by an unseen force, mostly showed expressions of terror.

The higher one's spiritual realm, the more one understands the vastness of the world.

Someone once said, "If you don't cultivate yourself, seeing me is like a frog at the bottom of a well looking at the moon in the sky; if you cultivate yourself, seeing me is like an ant seeing the blue sky."

At first glance, it seemed like a joke, but those seasoned veterans knew it was a golden rule, thought-provoking and insightful.

At that moment, without even seeing the person, an invisible force directly cut off the staircase, which shows just how strong the opponent's realm is.

"Master."

In the main hall, a burly old man squinted and muttered to himself.

"This person's cultivation level is probably at least that of a Xiantian Realm cultivator."

In the southeast corner, a young man dressed in a dissolute manner was playing with the small hand of the girl beside him. After seeing this scene, his tone became more surprised.

The city of Daliang is known for its chivalrous spirit, but it lacks true masters. The existence of the Armored Sect makes the martial arts masters avoid the city like the plague. Those attracted by this spirit are mostly naive newcomers to the martial arts world, as well as reckless youths who are unaware of their own limitations.

Who is Xu Di?

Suddenly, a voice reached everyone's ears, and the speaker sounded to be quite young.

The crowd below, which had already begun to stir, changed their expressions again upon hearing this. The voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough to reach everyone's ears. Whether they knew the person or not, they could all sense that the speaker was no ordinary individual.

"Xu Di?"

Those present frowned. This person didn't seem to be very famous in Daliang. However, the expressions of the Imperial Guards turned strange because their deputy commander's name was Xu Di.

At the main entrance of Wanhua Tower, there was an ordinary-looking soldier. Upon hearing this voice transmission, his expression changed, and he subconsciously walked towards the door.

Xu Di, Li Qing's deputy general and also an assassin of the Luo Wang, has already reached the Innate Realm in strength.

He had witnessed what had just happened, and he knew he couldn't have done that. He had originally wanted to see what was going on on the fifth floor, but he never expected to get caught up in the drama himself.

Just then, the soldiers in the Imperial Guards subconsciously looked at him. Xu Di's expression changed upon seeing this, and he twisted his foot and suddenly darted out.

Assassins are always the most acutely aware of danger.

Unfortunately, his idea was good, but the reality was far from what he imagined.

An incredibly powerful force suddenly landed on his shoulder, making his feet feel like they were rooted to the ground. Every step became extremely heavy, and before he could take two steps, he stumbled and fell face-first to the ground.

"Do even assassins from the Net of Heaven experience fear?"

The voice came again, and everyone present froze. The Net might not be a big name in the imperial court, but in the martial arts world, it was an organization that struck fear into people's hearts.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, two young men emerged from the void and appeared outside the gate, standing before the assassin from the Luo Wang organization named Xu Di.

"This is."

Upon seeing the two young men, the group tensed up, unsure whether they were human or ghosts, and whispered amongst themselves.

"I'm looking for Wei Yong. You lead the way."

Xu Di struggled to lift his head and look at the young man in front of him. Unlike the people in the hall, he could not see the young man's methods, but he knew that the other party was using the supreme mental technique of the Taoist Heavenly Sect, "Harmony with the World".

You are the Way.

Xiu Yuan raised an eyebrow, and an even heavier aura crashed down again, pressing Xu Di to the ground, forcing him to prostrate himself.

"You don't seem to have understood me."

"Spare my life."

The Luo Net doesn't have much information about the Taoist Heavenly Sect, but most of it is negative. He once saw a sentence in a secret file that said, "A group of crazy Taoist cultivators who pursue the unity of heaven and man. There's no need to provoke them."

"lead the way!"

Xiu Yuan pointed at the void, and a stream of true energy locked onto the other party's heart meridian. Then, he pulled the girl beside him and disappeared into the void once again.

Looking at the deserted street, Xu Di's face turned ashen. He realized that he had underestimated the other party's level. He had only ever felt this kind of pressure from Ximen Dian, who was a Grandmaster.

"A bunch of lunatics!!"

He cursed inwardly, but the next moment, a chill swept over his entire body again, and the true energy in his heart meridian was like a steel knife, cutting through his entire body.

"Young hero??"

Xu Di tentatively asked a question.

A voice resounded in his heart.

"You only have the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. After that, all the meridians in your body will be shattered by the true energy, turning you into a cripple. You should know the consequences of being born into this net."

Xu Di's pupils contracted. Compared to death, this punishment was far more cruel. The Net would not leave a cripple behind. If the Net found out about this, his fate would be worse than death. He dared not delay. Xu Di pushed off with his feet and rushed out.

"Young hero, follow me!"

Wei Yong, the Grand Minister of Works of the State of Wei, was forced to hide in Wei Family Village because of Xuan Jian's affair. Later, it was the intervention of the Guigu School that defeated Xuan Jian and saved the Grand Minister of Works' life. Afterwards, he successfully took over the Wei Kingdom's elite army, the Wei Wuzu.

As for the general who was mentioned only briefly in the story, things seem to have changed quite a bit now. His fate seems to have taken some bizarre turns. In another timeline, this general seems to have been killed by Xuan Jian, but now, Ximen Dian has not been killed and is alive and well.

Seeing the figure speeding away ahead, Xiuyuan and Xiaomeng followed.

Just after the two left, the Imperial Guards in the Wan Hua Lou finally climbed to the fifth floor of the brothel. Looking at Li Qing, who had been beheaded, in the room, the guards were terrified.

Li Qing was not only a commander of the Imperial Guards, but also had a close relationship with the favorite concubine of the King of Wei. Now that this general is in trouble, a whispered word from his wife could lead to their deaths.

"Seal off the scene."

"Find the murderer."

"That person went to see the Grand Marshal."

Faced with life and death, the remaining Imperial Guard captains quickly made up their minds. They led their men to seal off the entire Wan Hua Lou while sending people to notify the other Imperial Guard commanders.

Looking at the sealed gate, the guests in the Wan Hua Lou changed their expressions slightly. From the commotion just now, most of them had guessed something. The Imperial Guard Commander had not made a move yet, probably because he had encountered danger. They had heard about this General Li before.

Now that he's in trouble here, if his sister in the palace were to pursue the matter, everyone present would be executed along with him. Several relatively powerful wandering swordsmen in the shadows exchanged glances and nodded in tacit agreement; they had no intention of waiting to be killed.

"Do it!"

A cold shout rang out, and several people rushed out from different directions. Seeing this, the other quick-witted individuals also chose to follow. In the blink of an eye, the hall was in chaos.

The incident happened very suddenly. Before the captains of the Imperial Guards could make any arrangements, the scene was in complete chaos, and everyone's expression changed drastically.

"No one is allowed to make any rash moves; violators will be executed without mercy!!"

At a command, the Imperial Guards drew their long swords, but the wandering swordsmen who already knew what had happened were not going to listen to this.

A voice suddenly burst out from the crowd.

"Li Qing is dead, and these people will pay with their lives!!"

"Brothers, let's charge out now!!"

"Once the army completes the encirclement, we won't be able to escape even if we wanted to!"

Several imperial guard captains narrowed their eyes, their killing intent rising suddenly. The person who spoke from the crowd seemed to want to completely disrupt the place so that he could escape in the chaos.

"Imperial Guards, listen to my command! Anyone who leaves the building without authorization will be executed without mercy!!"

"I'll kill you, you dog! Whether you stick your head out or not, you'll still get stabbed, so I might as well fight. Maybe there's still a sliver of hope for me!!"

Another voice came, this time a bit crude, but it was quite to the liking of those in the martial arts world. Several more highly skilled individuals broke through the encirclement, and the situation completely spiraled out of control.

Those martial arts practitioners who arrived here began to use every means at their disposal; some even took advantage of the Imperial Guards' inattention to set the building on fire.

As they watched the thick smoke billowing from the third and fourth floors, the faces of the team leaders changed drastically. Then, their eyes hardened. Since these martial arts figures wanted to cause trouble, why didn't they grant their wish?

"Imperial Guards, on my command! Withdraw from the brothel! Archers, prepare!"

"These bastards want to silence me. If Li Qing dies, they'll all be buried with him!!"

Indeed, Li Qing is dead and the murderer has escaped, but they have not yet sent anyone to report this news. If they silence these people who know the truth, the accompanying Imperial Guards may still have a chance to survive. This is also the plan of those captains.

However, someone still managed to expose it.

"boom!"

Just then, dozens of black balls rolled into the lobby and onto the street, and before anyone could react, they exploded with a deafening roar, billowing white smoke that obscured everyone's view.

Seeing this, the hundreds of people in the hall seemed to feel a glimmer of hope and began frantically rushing out. A ray of light gradually pierced the darkness on the horizon, seemingly indicating that this deadly situation was not yet over.

Meanwhile, at the residence of Grand Minister Wei Yong, Xu Di rushed into Wei Yong's bedroom in a panic. This was not the first time he had dealt with this Grand Minister of Wei.

As dawn broke, Wei Yong awoke.

Looking at the flustered person in front of him, whose eyes were filled with fear, Wei Yong's face showed a hint of displeasure.

"Is this how the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) follows the rules?"

"Young hero, we've arrived!!"

Xu Di stood at the door, completely ignoring Wei Yong's expression, and instead spoke to those behind him.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a breath of cold air shot out. The boy was not lying. Most of his meridians had been frozen by that true energy. He was about to die from the other party's methods, so he dared not hesitate for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yong's long, snow-white eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Xu Di seemed to be coerced by someone, but when he looked outside, he found nothing.

Xu Di looked behind him and saw no movement. His face was suddenly filled with despair. Time passed slowly, and suddenly, a slightly cold voice came from the open space outside the room.

"Senior brother, I will bear my own karma."

Immediately afterwards, a silver-haired girl emerged from the void. When Xu Di saw her, his expression didn't change much. At this moment, the person he wanted to see was that boy, that unpredictable boy.

The chill emanating from him grew stronger and stronger; he couldn't hold on much longer. He looked around again, but the boy still hadn't appeared.

Xiaomeng gripped the peach-shaped sword in her hand, her gaze fixed on the two people before her. She said in a deep voice, "There's no need to search anymore. Defeat me, and my senior brother will let you leave. Otherwise, you two will die here today."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di looked up at the girl in front of him again, his narrow eyes narrowing.

He hadn't noticed before that this seemingly young girl was not simple at all; he even sensed a dangerous aura emanating from her.

Wei Yong, the Grand Minister of Works of Wei, who was still confused about the situation, spoke up: "Young lady, are you mistaken? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

The Grand Minister of Works of Wei was certain that he had never seen the girl in front of him before, but what was going on with her attitude?
"Guancheng, Chenjia Village".

Xiaomeng held her sword in one hand, a hint of emotion in her voice. Her homeland was unforgettable, her old friends were hard to find, and she could never let go of this place.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yong and Xu Di's eyes darkened with uncertainty. Only now did they finally understand the real reason why this girl had come to their door.

"That was all the work of the Net, it has nothing to do with me!!"

Suddenly, Wei Yong pointed to Xu Di beside him and said urgently.

Upon hearing this, Xu Di gave a cold laugh.

Even at this point, the Grand Commandant still seemed to have no idea why the other party had come here.

"Grand Commander, you approved what happened back then. Without your written order, those five hundred Qin soldiers wouldn't have escaped Ximen Dian's search!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Yong's face darkened, and a trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

"Back then, I was deceived by you. You claimed to be luring the enemy deep into our territory, but instead you slaughtered them in the fortress. Whenever I think of this, I am heartbroken and cannot sleep at night."

As an evergreen in the court, Wei Yong was clearly a cunning old fox when it came to exercises. Seeing this, even Xu Di wondered what the original reason was for this old guy to join forces with Luo Wang back then.
"I wonder what kind of expressions Xuanjian and Miss Qianqian will have when they hear what you say, sir?"

Just then, another voice rang out, but this one sounded calmer, yet the content of its words caused Wei Yong's expression to change drastically.

Since Xuan Jian was killed, he has never mentioned the matter of Xuan Jian and Qian Qian in public again. Who exactly is the owner of this voice?
"A man who would sacrifice his own daughter for power would not care about the State of Wei. If you were to say these words to Xuan Jian, the people of Wei Family Village would probably die again."

Wei Yong's face turned pale at the thought of that man.

"No, he's dead!! He's dead!!"

Clearly, the shadow cast by Xuan Jian on him has not yet dissipated.

"Indeed, Yan Ri and Xuan Jian are both dead. They died in Xinzheng, Han, and I killed them with my own hands!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt a jolt of fear.

Wei Yong had met both Yan Ri and Xuan Jian. These two top-tier assassins from the Luo Wang were extremely powerful. They had even severely injured and brought Ximen Dian to the brink of death, but something happened later and he was rescued.

As for Xu Di, he had naturally heard of the two Heavenly-level experts in the Luo Wang who wielded the Yue King's Eight Swords. Without a doubt, they were both Grandmasters, and their combat power far exceeded that of ordinary Grandmasters.

Upon hearing the news of their deaths, he was momentarily stunned, his whole body trembling involuntarily. Only those within the same web of intrigue knew just how terrifying those two men truly were.

"This is impossible!!"

"Nothing is impossible. Although they are grandmasters, they are still human. Humans will die; it's just a matter of time."

The voice came again, without any boasting or surprise, just calm, but this calmness made Wei Yong and Xu Di's hearts sink completely.

Finally, there was Xiaomeng standing to the side. Among Chenjia Village's enemies were people from Luowang. He remembered what Li Qing had said: the leader was Yanri. But he didn't expect that this enemy had already been killed by Xiuyuan.

"Xu Di, you bastard! I've always treated you well, why did you have to harm me?!"

Suddenly, Wei Yong started cursing at the person in front of him again. Xu Di was stunned, turned around and looked over. He saw that the Grand Minister's eyes were cold. Then, as if he thought of something, a strange look flashed deep in his eyes.

Xiaomeng frowned when she saw the two arguing again. Just then, Wei Yong suddenly produced a box, and with a series of thuds, tiny needles as fine as cow hair shot towards Xiaomeng.

Xiaomeng's eyes turned cold, she twisted her foot, and in a moment of disarray, she narrowly avoided the sudden sneak attack.

But the next moment, the girl's eyes changed, and a chilling killing intent came from behind her.

Xu Di grinned maliciously. From the moment he heard the name Chenjia Village, he already knew that this girl was the bargaining chip for him to survive today.

The short sword, less than a foot long, gleamed coldly and pierced straight towards the girl's back.

Despite sensing the deadly sword strike, Xiaomeng remained calm and composed. Her strong mental fortitude prevented her from making a mistake in the heat of the moment. The girl, who already had a certain foundation in swordsmanship, suddenly bent her body as if boneless, and dodged the sword again to Xu Di's incredulous gaze.

"Sneak attack?"

Xiaomeng looked at the two people in front of her, her tone cold.

The next moment, the two techniques, Autumn Waters of Ten Thousand Rivers and Still Water of the Heart, began to circulate within her body simultaneously.

She was at the Innate Realm, but as someone who cultivated two different techniques simultaneously, she was no ordinary Innate Realm cultivator. Although Xu Di was also at the Innate Realm and had been there for many years, in terms of sheer cultivation level, he was no match for her.

Then, the girl stomped her foot and shot out like lightning, her peach sword emitting a burst of heat.

Xu Di instinctively dodged, but Xiao Meng's momentum continued. When Xu Di came to his senses, he saw a head flying into the sky.

"The attacker dies first!!"

(End of this chapter)