I defeated the saint with a parry.

Zhang Li moved! The white snake also opened its mouth wide, and a green spiritual energy breath came out of its mouth, pointing directly at the place where Zhang Li had just been, and continued to approach the moving Zhang Li.

Zhang Li had already gathered his strength and thrown his long sword.

As the spiritual energy of the Concentration Realm was poured in, the longsword glowed with green light. The talismans hidden beneath the weapon lit up one by one, and the longsword transformed into a blue dragon in the air, shooting straight towards the direction Xu Ling pointed, without the slightest deviation.

"boom!"

The longsword Azure Dragon collided with the white snake's breath, the azure blade slicing through the breath and plunging directly into the snake's mouth.

The white snake was severely injured. It swallowed its own breath and suffered a backlash. Although it was not seriously harmed, it was still in great pain, not to mention that the knife had directly pierced its throat.

If he hadn't used his breath to deflect most of the force, this single strike would have pierced through the back of his snake head and sent him flying.

The white snake spat out its long blade, its eyes filled with surprise and doubt. It didn't look at Zhang Li, but stared intently at Xu Ling.

Xu Ling didn't move an inch throughout the entire process, yet he managed to guide a masked Nascent Soul cultivator to break through his attacks one after another through telepathy, which was truly unusual.

It wasn't stupid either; it immediately turned its head around and spat out venom that transformed into sharp swords to attack Xu Ling!

As the art of war says, "To capture a thief, first capture his king; to strike a snake, strike its vital spot."

Since Xu Ling is breaking through the opponent's moves, then kill Xu Ling first. The remaining Nascent Soul Realm cultivator can be easily eliminated.

"Trying to mess with me?"

Xu Ling smiled.

If this snake had read *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* and knew Wang Yuyan, it wouldn't have been so confident in charging at him. The masters in *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* should be grateful that Wang Yuyan didn't know martial arts, because if she did, it might have completely changed the landscape of the story.

Xu Ling is more terrifying than Wang Yuyan. Wang Yuyan only knows martial arts, while Xu Ling directly knows how to counter moves, without even needing to know what you can do.

"Good timing!"

Xu Ling shouted and deflected the poisoned arrow with his ink-black blade, the sound of the metal striking metal was refreshing and crisp.

Upon receiving Xu Ling's telepathic warning, Zhang Li summoned his longsword and continued slashing at the white snake's vital spot. The white snake could only twist its body to dodge and use its tail to constantly maneuver and counterattack, all of which Zhang Li managed to avoid.

Xu Ling deflected the force of the poisoned arrow from the front, while Zhang Li interfered from behind, seizing the opportunity to strike at the snake's vital point.

The two attacked together, and the White Serpent was forced to retreat steadily, her reaction even worse than that of Sumeru in the past.

Its many methods, if used solely against Xu Ling, might be quite troublesome. However, with the tension of the Concentration Realm, even without Xu Ling's command, it could avoid most of the "trouble." Now that it has been given command, it's as if it has divine assistance, giving the White Serpent a good torment.

The white snake cried out in agony, "Why have you insulted me?!"

It realized that Xu Ling, who was at the Body Tempering Realm, was a monster.

and many more!

It was strange that Zhang Li, a cultivator at the Concentration Realm, would listen to someone at the Body Tempering Realm. He couldn't help but recall the rumors about the town's garrison commander.

The white snake shouted, "It's you!"

Snake Eyes stared at Xu Ling: "Are you Xu Huaixu?"

The more I look at it, the more it resembles him. It is said that although Xu Huaixu has amazing combat power, he has always presented himself as a scholar and has no martial arts temperament at all. He looks just like a pale-faced young man.

The young man in front of me, who is at the Body Tempering Realm, does indeed have a scholarly air about him.

Moreover, his ability to see through the attacks of a Spirit Platform Realm demon is something no Body Tempering Realm cultivator could do...

So many things match up!

The white snake felt aggrieved: "You, a great cultivator of the Dragon Gate Realm, could easily see through my moves and even kill me with a flick of your wrist. Why did you take this opportunity to guide a junior in the Condensation Realm to humiliate me?"

"I am, after all, a Spirit Platform Realm expert on the verge of transforming into a dragon. How can I be treated like this? Have you not learned the etiquette of the human race?"

"Could it be that Lord Xu's title of 'quasi-sage of Confucianism and martial arts' is a lie?"

The White Snake kept calling him "Xu Huaixu," making Xu Ling extremely embarrassed.

This information is quite substantial: the garrison commander is actually a master cultivator at the Dragon Gate Realm, and also holds the title of Quasi-Saint of Confucianism and Martial Arts. It's important to know that the Spirit Platform Realm is already considered the Transcendent Realm, and the third stage of the Transcendent Realm begins at the Spirit Platform Realm, progresses through the Sea-Gazing Realm, and then reaches the Dragon Gate Realm.

Fish that leap over the Dragon Gate will transform into dragons; people who pass through the Dragon Gate can become saints.

Humans leap over the Dragon Gate and transform into gods.

How strong would that be?

Indeed, if Xu Ling is truly Xu Huaixu, then treating a Spirit Platform Realm snake demon in this way is nothing short of humiliating.

The White Snake didn't make a mistake, but he did mistakenly identify Xu Ling.

Xu Ling: "How dare I, a mere cultivator in the Body Tempering Realm, impersonate the Guardian? Snake demon, stop talking nonsense."

The white snake sneered: "Bah! You despicable human, you dare to do it but not admit it."

"If that weren't the case, how dare a mere Body Tempering Realm cultivator or a Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator claim to want to kill me?"

"Oh? They're too scared? How about I do it?"

Neither Xu Ling nor Zhang Li spoke. The white snake turned its vertical pupils in confusion and looked in the direction of the voice, only to find a person who looked like a "scholar" floating there.

The white snake wanted to question who the visitor was, but it couldn't open its mouth, couldn't make a sound, and even its divine sense was suppressed, making it completely ineffective.

What level of attainment does this person need to reach to achieve this?

The White Snake was stunned, her eyes filled with confusion. How could there be two "Confucian Martial Arts"?!

"Greetings, Lord Garrison Commander!"

Xu Ling and Zhang Li bowed respectfully.

Xu Huaixu waved his hand and looked at the white snake with great interest: "You two are quite lucky, you just arrived and dug up such a... top-notch snack to go with your drinks."

Actually, he didn't plan to come out. He had already arrived here when the White Snake's aura was exposed, hiding in the shadows with Shadow to observe Xu Ling and Zhang Li.

Unexpectedly, the white snake's curses became increasingly vulgar, and who knows what else she might say next.

He's not embarrassed to watch alone, but his shadow is there too. How can he keep his distance?

Left with no other choice, Old Xu had to come out.

He was also quite dissatisfied with the white snake. It seemed like it had cultivated its Spirit Platform Realm cultivation for nothing, and it couldn't even force Xu Ling to use his methods. It was really useless!

After Xu Huaixu subdued the white snake, he didn't even glance at it, and went straight to Xu Ling to ask, "How's the investigation into the Li Family Village matter going?"

Xu Ling then told him about the Li family, the treasure map, and the Song family, saying, "This case isn't over yet. This white snake in front of us is probably someone who deliberately arranged this."

Zhang Li chimed in from the side.

Xu Huaixu smiled as he looked at the two of them: "This white snake is indeed not the murderer. As for the Song family's treasure map... the person behind it who can deceive others' perception and trace it must be at least a cultivator at the peak of the Sea-Gazing Realm."

"It's difficult to investigate, so let's put it aside for now."

Xu Huaixu slapped the white snake, instantly turning its massive body into a blood mist. Before the mist could spread, Xu Huaixu grabbed it with one hand and condensed it into a blood pill. Upon closer inspection, a serpentine spirit could be seen wandering within the blood pill.

The white snake hesitated for a long time, but couldn't finish speaking. In its last breath, it suddenly realized that the snake had really mistaken the person. This later strongman was the real Confucian Martial Quasi-Saint.

That scholarly and refined demeanor perfectly matches the rumors!

Ha ha.

It had died suddenly, which Xu Ling found slightly regrettable. The process had been aided by Zhang Li, but the final blow was taken by Xu Huaixu, so the improvement he gained from this battle was negligible.

Damn it, this crappy support system even has the concept of sharing experience?

However, a promotion is still a promotion, and Xu Ling doesn't mind.

As if sensing the change in Xu Ling, Xu Huaixu frowned slightly, staring at Xu Ling but unable to discern anything. He silently looked at the blood pill in his hand: "This demon's cultivation is indeed a treasure."

"However..." He stared at the blood pill and said, "Its bloodline is a bit strange. It doesn't seem to be a pure-blooded snake demon. It has some human and other demon blood mixed in."

"It seems that this is not a naturally born snake demon. Someone has been deliberately raising this demon here and has even used methods to conceal its aura. I'm afraid they are trying to lure people here."

Zhang Li spoke up: "The Li family is definitely involved."

"The Li family?"

Xu Huaixu looked at Xu Ling: "Speaking of the Li family, a major incident has occurred in the Li family. Li Xi, whom you escorted back, and his old servant died suddenly in the Li residence."

"The Li family reported the case to the police and also invited our Demon Suppression Division."