NOVEL NEXT Chapter 140: Change Again
After Chen Ku had left, the large fire that had started in Black Clothes Alley quickly drew the attention of the Night Watchman and nearby common folk. By the time chaos had engulfed the entire alley, in the middle of the night, the government officers had also arrived.
Although many people were ordered to extinguish the fire, Chen Ku had set it at a cunning angle. Furthermore, with the Volcanic Crow handling the cleanup, by the time the fire was completely extinguished, the two-courtyard residence of Zhao Yuyan and other members of the Ancient Elephant Sect was almost burned to ruins.
Within that courtyard, the old woman's body, through the Volcanic Crow's cleanup efforts, had turned into charred ashes.
Eventually, government personnel, along with hunting dogs, traced a scent to a nearby dark alley. When the constables arrived in the alley with lanterns, they were utterly horrified by the sight before them.
The walls of the alley were splattered with bloodstains. On the ground lay a giant Palm Seal, a full ten feet across. Within it was a large mass of flesh and blood, completely pulverized by a single palm strike.
"Leader Shen, there's writing here!"
Shen Tu, Li Yuancheng's immediate superior and one of the three arrest officers in the Quick Arrest House, was in charge of the night shift. Shen Tu stared at the Palm Seal on the ground, silent for a long moment.
His heart pounded with shock.
What kind of Martial Arts could possess the power to create such a mark?
At least, in his twenty-plus years serving in Baojiao County and dealing with various masters, he had never witnessed such profound Martial Arts.
To kill someone and still leave a ten-foot-wide Palm Seal on the spot...
At that moment, he slowly walked towards the constables holding the lanterns, which illuminated the blood-written characters on the wall.
"The killer is Yao Wensu of the Peace Path!"
Before long, constables from the Zao Class also brought information about the deceased in the courtyard.
「...」
Late at night.
In the manor of the County Magistrate.
Shangguan Yun had originally been meditating, his spirit peacefully asleep. The Black Secret Intelligence Book he cultivated was a spiritual Divine Power. This was especially true after he received the spiritual boon from the 'Mystic Gate'—the Third Layer of the Mystic Barrier—which made his Cultivation of this technique even more divinely assisted.
When others slept normally, his spirit was actually increasing his Skill even in slumber.
Suddenly, Shangguan Yun opened his eyes. Only then did he hear the sound of urgent footsteps approaching the door.
"Sir, I felt I had to report to you immediately. Zhao Yuyan, the second daughter of the Ancient Elephant Sect's leader from Prefecture City, was killed tonight. Her residence was burned to the ground. Yan Shu, an old woman from the Ancient Elephant Sect, was found dead in the same dwelling. Zhao Yuyan herself died in an alley not far from her courtyard, killed by a single palm strike."
Sui You, dressed in a simple green robe, stood outside Shangguan Yun's door in the dead of night.
"The situation is urgent, Sir. I felt I had to inform you at once."
The death of a mere daughter from the Ancient Elephant Sect, and you call that urgent?
Shangguan Yun raised an eyebrow slightly. Although the Ancient Elephant Sect held some power in Prefecture City and was reputed to possess seven Ultimate Skills, this was Baojiao County. And he was Shangguan Yun. He wouldn't stir up a major commotion and search the entire city for the murderer just because the daughter of an Ancient Elephant Sect leader had died.
It would be a different matter if it were the daughter of Qin Yuxian, the President of the Qiu Dragon Martial Association.
Unless...
"You said Zhao Yuyan was killed by a palm strike?"
Outside, the tightly closed door to his room suddenly swung open. Shangguan Yun opened it, his gaze fixed on Sui You, and asked gravely, "What kind of palm strike?"
「...」
A moment later, Shangguan Yun had personally arrived at the alley.
It really is the Mountain-Lifting Palm!
He stood at the entrance of the alley with his hands behind his back. By now, many lanterns illuminated the interior, clearly showing the ten-foot-wide bloody Hand Seal within.
Sui You stood behind Shangguan Yun. Then he heard the plainly dressed lord before him say in a solemn voice, "No, that can't be right. How could a Mountain-Lifting Palm of mere Ultimate Skill Level create such a scene?"
"I also came to see it for myself, Sir. After witnessing the unusual power of this 'Mountain-Lifting Palm,' I dared to disturb you." Sui You placed a hand on his abdomen, thinking aloud, "Judging by its power, although the attacker's Cultivation is unclear, the might of this Martial Art is definitely not at the Ultimate Skill Level. It seems more like..."
"A World-Surpassing Level Mountain-Lifting Palm!"
Shangguan Yun's brows furrowed. "Your guess is correct. This is indeed power that only a World-Surpassing Level Mountain-Lifting Palm could achieve. But it's impossible! If the Xu Family truly had someone who mastered Martial Arts of this caliber, it would mean they've recovered the Inner Strength of the Sky-Shaking Earth-Shattering Divine Technique..."
A great sense of foreboding suddenly washed over him.
The Sky-Shaking Earth-Shattering Divine Technique!
That was a Divine Skill capable of shaking the world! Even if it had only been restored to the World-Surpassing Level, it would be enough to make him wary, even afraid.
"Sir, you should look at the message left on the wall first," Sui You gestured. "I was initially worried that some hero had emerged from the Xu Family. However, the writing on the wall has led me to a different theory."
Shangguan Yun immediately stepped forward. He then saw the message: "The killer is Yao Wensu of the Peace Path!"
Yao Wensu of the Peace Path?
"Who is this person?" Shangguan Yun asked.
Sui You replied from the side, "I inquired with those in the Official Residence responsible for gathering intelligence on the Peace Path. This person is an Incense Master of the Peace Path, with Cultivation at the peak of the Fourth Realm Meridian-Opening."
Someone from the Peace Path knows the Mountain-Lifting Palm?
Shangguan Yun fell into deep thought. This matter...
"Sir, have you forgotten? The last time, it was the Demon People of the Peace Path who colluded with the Xu Family to raid the execution ground," Sui You reminded.