The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a dense pine forest.

He Xiao and Ni Heng, carrying bows and arrows and their prey, were heading towards the garrison.

"Brother Xiao, why hasn't Brother Qi come back yet?" Ni Heng asked worriedly, chewing on a blade of grass. "Could something have happened to him on the way?"

"Don't jinx it." He Xiao rolled his eyes at him. "Even if something happens to you, Qi Ge will be fine."

Ni Heng gave an awkward smile, "I was just worried about Brother Qi."

As the two were talking, they suddenly sensed that something was off about the atmosphere in the woods.

The next moment, He Xiao grabbed Ni Heng, and the two of them rolled over and fell to the side.

Whoosh whoosh!

Suddenly, a series of hidden weapons shot out from the forest.

Big Red had already cleverly dodged away and called out towards the top of the mountain forest not far away.

Wang Wang!

Ni Heng and He Xiao looked up and saw five figures falling from the tree. They were dressed simply, mostly in black, and their clothes looked rather ill-fitting.

"Who are you!?"

Ni Heng roared in anger. He couldn't understand how he and He Xiao could have been attacked when they were walking along peacefully.

I haven't offended anyone during this period, have I?

"The ones who will take your lives!"

Without further ado, the group decided to take action after their sneak attack failed. Fortunately, they were only two second-level experts. They had deployed a total of two third-level experts and three second-level experts, so dealing with the two in front of them was a piece of cake.

Five men in gray rushed forward, each wielding a weapon, their moves ruthless and vicious, carrying a strange aura.

He Xiao thought he was familiar with many martial arts techniques in Fushan City, but he had no recollection of the moves these people were using.

There was no time to think about it.

A powerful punch!

He Xiao exchanged fists with one of them, and his expression changed drastically.

"Three training sessions!?"

Awoo.

In an attempt to save Ni Heng, Da Hong was kicked to the ground and let out a whimper.

Its nose twitched, as if it had smelled something, and it abandoned Ni Heng and the other person, fleeing away.

"What a cowardly dog. You deserve this fate for having such a dog."

"Xiao Heng, you go first!"

He Xiao roared, suppressing the turbulent blood and qi within him, struggled to his feet, and rushed forward to meet the attack.

"Not a single one of them will escape!"

The gray-clad leader sneered. "Are you kidding me? If so many people attacking together could still let these two escape, then their sect would be utterly useless."

"Bang!"

He Xiao was struck in the chest by a man in gray, and flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Just then, a dog barked from afar.

It turned out to be Big Red, who had escaped earlier.

The man in gray was surprised.

"They actually dared to come back."

He didn't take it to heart. Although the dog was a different breed, its strength was just so-so, and it wasn't much of a problem. In fact, he could have some dog meat to eat later.

He was thinking about it.

Suddenly, a gust of evil wind swept in.

Looking up, his eyes were bloodshot.

A massive halberd suddenly cleaved through the air, seemingly carrying the force of wind and thunder, its momentum unstoppable.

"who!?"

A young man wielding a halberd leaped down from a tree, his aura astonishing, and the halberd crashed heavily to the ground.

clang!!

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the mountains and forests!

The terrifying distance instantly created a crater half a meter in diameter on the ground.

Mud flew everywhere, dust rose, and the entire mountain forest seemed to tremble.

The leader of the gray-clad men felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this. He turned away to avoid the attack and looked at the newcomer.

"Who are you? I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

But then Ni Heng and He Xiao exclaimed simultaneously, "Brother Qi!?"

Upon seeing this, the leader of the gray-clad men immediately realized, "You're Zuo Qi!?"

How could this be Zuo Qi?

The Zuo Qi that Zhao Heihu mentioned, who became a commander by using the Lin family's connections, actually has such strength.

The large crater in the ground was still there. If he hadn't dodged quickly, it's uncertain whether he would have survived that attack intact.

Zuo Qi didn't speak, but stepped forward, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Dragon-Slaying Halberd Technique, Swift Fire!"

He strode forward, his halberd tip flashing like a venomous snake's tongue, aiming straight for the throat of a gray-clad man on his right.

The opponent hurriedly dodged to the side, the halberd blade grazing his neck and spraying blood.

Seeing this, the leader of the gray-clad men dared not hesitate. "Attack him together! Kill him!"

At the same time, he launched a surprise attack from the side and rear, thrusting his short sword straight at Zuo Qi's lower back.

Without even looking, Zuo Qi twisted his wrist sharply, pulled the halberd back, and slammed it heavily into the chest and abdomen of a man to his left.

boom!

The man's bones shattered, he spat out blood, and flew backward, unconscious on the spot.

The remaining three were filled with shock and rage, and they launched a frenzied attack, their swords flashing and their attacks relentless.

Zuo Qi moved with swift, elusive steps, his figure as elusive as a shadow. He wielded the halberd with effortless ease, his strikes—slashing, sweeping, thrusting, and smashing—all ruthless and deadly.

Combined with the Dragon-Slaying Halberd Technique's characteristic of becoming stronger the more it is fought.

Five breaths.

The five gray-clad men on the spot all fell to the ground, unable to get up. The two leading experts were all skilled in the third level of martial arts. One of them had been struck on the thigh by Zuo Qi's halberd and could no longer even stand.

Another person was punched in the chest and abdomen by Zuo Qi, causing his sternum to cave in and him to vomit blood.

"identity?"

Zuo Qi asked softly.

The only one still able to stand, the one with the broken leg, who was also the leader of the gray-clad men, looked at Zuo Qi with a mixture of shock and anger, but did not speak.

Zuo Qi didn't waste any words. He slightly moved his halberd, and the halberd's tip swept across a man's neck.

"identity."

The sound of footsteps and the sound of weapons tearing through flesh rang out almost simultaneously.

As Zuo Qi drew nearer to another man, the man, seeing the blood dripping from the halberd's blade, finally succumbed to the pressure and screamed, "We are members of the Joyful Cult! Zhao Heihu sent us to kill!"

"Enjoy teaching?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Qi frowned immediately.

This was a notorious cult in Fushan City more than ten years ago. They were skilled in absorbing yang energy to replenish yin energy, and it was rumored that they could extend a person's lifespan through secret methods of absorbing yin energy!

The reason it was able to develop was because of this secret method. Back then, some old monsters from the aristocratic families in Fushan City went almost crazy in order to prolong their lives. Later, with the support of the Xu family, the Xi Cult developed to its peak. At that time, the status of women in Fushan City was extremely low, and this still affects them today.

Murong Qiong's surprise attack on the Xijiao sect was also one of the reasons for the destruction of the Xu family.

However, over the years, the happy Cult has never given up on Fushan City, and news of the capture of happy Cult members has been frequently reported in the city.

Unfortunately, most of those arrested were newcomers who had just been recruited into the Xijiao sect and were unaware of the sect's strongholds.

Suddenly, something occurred to him: "Are the people of the Joyful Cult hiding in Mount Fu?"

The man was about to speak when the leader of the gray-clad men beside him said sternly, "Cheng Guo, shut up!"

Zuo Qi gave him a disapproving look, walked over quietly, accompanied by a pitiful scream.

Returning to the person who had spoken, he said, "The talkative one is dead. You can continue."

Cheng Guo fell silent.

Ni Heng stepped forward and plunged a knife into Cheng Guo's shoulder. "Speak!"

His face contorted in a ferocious expression. If Da Hong hadn't caught a whiff of Zuo Qi's scent and gone to find him when things went wrong, he and He Xiao would have truly died today.

Naturally, he was both shocked and furious.

"You should be able to feel the bleeding from your wounds. I hope you can survive. What about you?"

Cheng Guo finally relented.

……