Chapter 1642: The Scout's Prowess
Zhao Haiyang held the token, and using its momentum, he suddenly slashed forward.
A thin thread of golden light erupted from his hand, slicing toward the neck of the man who had turned his back.
At the same time, the azure-robed man’s shoulder twitched as he turned. A blue-faced, fanged malicious ghost lunged from behind his head, pouncing toward the elder who was in the process of sitting down.
Under the collective gaze of the patrons, two bursts of gold and cyan light collided silently between the two men.
Because the malicious ghost was large and the golden thread was small, the golden line seemed to vanish into the ghost’s chest in an instant.
As the attacks were unleashed, the man in azure whipped his head around, and the elder Zhao Haiyang had transformed into also snapped his head up.
For a moment, both pairs of eyes were filled with astonishment. They hadn’t acted out of a defensive reaction to the other’s move. Rather, they had both simultaneously chosen the same tactic: lulling the opponent into a false sense of security before striking for the kill.
Because they had both attacked at once, their offensive moves ended up clashing, effectively serving as mutual defenses.
The azure-robed man had intended to take the target by surprise. He hadn’t seen any flaw in Zhao Haiyang’s disguise, but since there was a report, he intended to capture and interrogate him first.
Zhao Haiyang, on the other hand, realized he had likely been exposed. He had to fight for his life to escape the city.
“Boom!”
A massive explosion rang out as a fierce shockwave of gold and cyan light erupted from the ghost’s chest.
The impact tore the entire hall apart in an instant. Flesh and blood flew everywhere amidst a chorus of agonizing screams.
Though the azure-robed man blocked the attack, he was sent flying forward by the force.
“A Void Refining cultivator!”
Zhao Haiyang borrowed the momentum of the impact to shoot backward like a bolt of lightning. He instantly gauged the strength of the azure-robed man; the opponent was a fellow Void Refining powerhouse.
However, the man was weaker than him, likely only at the initial stage of Void Refining.
Still, this meant Zhao Haiyang could no longer slaughter everyone here instantly and escape before the outsiders could react.
If everyone here died, he could have fled the ghost city at his maximum speed or assumed a new identity within the city to hide. With his stealth capabilities, his chances of survival would have been high.
But failing to kill the opponent in one hit meant that plan was now void.
As he forced the azure-robed man back, Zhao Haiyang raised both hands and slashed outward violently.
“Rumble!”
Amidst a series of thunderous roars, the opulent Prosperity Inn, including the guest rooms in the rear, was leveled to the ground.
Though screams echoed, many died instantly without making a sound, vanishing into the debris. To a Void Refining cultivator, ordinary people and objects within their technique’s range were as fragile as paper.
Zhao Haiyang felt that since he was discovered, he should ensure as many people died as possible, including Mu Guyue. He instinctively felt that this situation was somehow related to that woman. It was a premonition, though he hadn’t yet figured out why.
Billowing dust rose as the collapsing buildings created a chaotic mess. People nearby were paralyzed with fear, unable to comprehend why the ground had suddenly split open inside the city.
The moment Zhao Haiyang flew out amidst the chaos, he abandoned all caution and released his Divine Sense, scanning the four city gates. He found that none of them had been closed yet.
Furthermore, he did not sense any other powerful auras converging on his location.
This meant one thing: the ghost cultivators in the city weren’t entirely sure that a powerful enemy was here; they only suspected it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent just one Void Refining cultivator. At least two would have been dispatched to corner him, or a Body Integration stage expert would have appeared.
This all happened in the blink of an eye. The azure-robed man, having stabilized himself after being knocked back, let out a piercing alarm that shook the heavens.
“A Void Refining enemy powerhouse is here! Close the gates!”
The voice echoed through the sky.
Zhao Haiyang had already vanished, soaring away from the inn. His Divine Sense spotted Kong Qianchi standing by a street corner, while Min Bufu was nowhere to be found.
At that moment, Kong Qianchi seemed to be surrounded by several patrol cultivators. Because the commotion from the inn was so great, everyone was staring toward the site in shock.
Evidently, his exposure wasn’t due to Kong Qianchi’s betrayal.
Zhao Haiyang made this judgment in an instant, but his movements were even faster. With a flicker, he reached the roadside.
Unleashing his aura, he crushed the patrol cultivators. The strongest among them, the squad leader, was only at the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation; they stood no chance.
They had been watching the inn, waiting for news, when a thunderous boom erupted and the inn was sent flying into the sky, exploding into countless fragments.
Just as the sight of the inn’s destruction filled their vision, a series of tearing sounds echoed.
The squad of patrol cultivators was torn into four pieces each amidst the chaotic shredding sounds. They didn’t even have time to scream before their nascent souls were extinguished.
A desperate Void Refining powerhouse made the very world lose its color.
At the same time, Zhao Haiyang reached out and grabbed the stunned Kong Qianchi, lifting him up.
Zhao Haiyang was now in full eruption, like a ferocious lion. His body let out a whistling roar as he vanished again, leaving only devastation in his wake.
In the next heartbeat, he appeared at the East Gate, which was the closest to the Prosperity Inn. He did not choose the West Gate, which had fewer guards; he had to exit the city immediately.
From the moment the man in azure moved to the moment Zhao Haiyang reached the gate, less than two breaths had passed. Such terrifying reaction time and speed were beyond words.
The guards at the East Gate were still oblivious to what had happened. They had only heard the distant explosion and the alarm echoing through the city.
As they instinctively turned to look and released their Divine Sense, Zhao Haiyang shot into the inner arch of the gate. The voice of the azure-robed man was still ringing in the air.
Zhao Haiyang moved so fast that he was a mere blur that the soldiers couldn’t even track. He swept past them without them even noticing.
He bypassed the inner guards and entered the gate tunnel. The exit was right before him, and the azure-robed man was already giving chase from behind.
Zhao Haiyang’s heart pounded. He knew that even if he exited the city, it would be difficult to shake off the pursuit of the city’s powerhouses.
According to his intelligence, there were five Void Refining cultivators here, and a Body Integration expert whose presence was uncertain.
Escaping Ghost Sound City only meant he wouldn’t be trapped by the city’s grand array, increasing his chances of survival. But whether he could truly lose his pursuers was something he was uncertain about.
‘Where did it go wrong?’
Zhao Haiyang felt a growing sense that he had been betrayed. He hadn’t even begun gathering intelligence since entering the city; how could he have been exposed so suddenly?
A scout’s greatest strength was stealth. As long as they stayed still, they were almost impossible to find. But once exposed, they were like a bride stripped naked in the enemy’s heart. No matter how strong they were, they could do nothing but run.
The probability of escape was less than twenty percent. Otherwise, if they were strong enough to fight their way out, a few such cultivators could simply level the place.