Chapter 40: Knife Cuts Through the Blood Cloud Thief

Meng Chuan calmly walked into the private room, his gaze falling upon the two bandits.

The obese man and the bearded man both stood up. Though somewhat wary, they greeted him with smiles, as they preferred to avoid trouble within Dongning Prefecture. The bearded man cupped his hands and chuckled, "Greetings, Young Master Meng. May I ask what brings you to our room and what we can do for you and my brother?"

"To kill!"As the calm voice resonated, a flash of saber light appeared.The strike was incredibly fast!

Meng Chuan, now in the late stage of the Embryonic Realm, possessed a profound Godfiend foundation, and his Godfiend body was on par with an ordinary Unblemished Realm expert. Having comprehended 'saber force', he could unleash even greater physical potential by combining his mind, body, and technique, even without actively using the saber force itself. Known for his incredible speed, his single saber strike sent a chill down the spines of the two bandits in the private room.

"Not good." Both of them knew something was wrong, but the weaker, obese man's body couldn't react in time. The saber light flashed across his throat.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo..." The obese man clutched his throat, but blood was already gushing out. His face was filled with terror and despair as he felt his life rapidly ebbing away.

"What?" The bearded man, an Unblemished Realm expert after all, reacted much faster. The instant Meng Chuan struck, he leaped out of the window without hesitation. He knew very well that fighting Meng Chuan for even dozens of moves would be meaningless; in Dongning Prefecture, once their identities were exposed, they had to escape as quickly as possible.The longer he delayed, the more powerful experts would arrive, and the slimmer his chances of survival would become.

Having slain the obese man with one strike, Meng Chuan's figure blurred and he shot out of the window as well, directly pursuing Blood Hand Zhao Can. Neither of these bandits would escape today!

"What's going on?"In the lobby of Emerald Cloud Pavilion, many guests and serving women saw a figure fly out of a private room on the second floor, followed by another, even faster figure. A saber light streaked across the sky, fiercely slashing towards the first figure.Still airborne, before even landing, Blood Hand Zhao Can had already put on his black gloves. His hands suddenly enlarged, like cattail-leaf fans. His abnormally large hands executed a profound move, blocking the saber strike.

"Boom."Blood Hand Zhao Can felt a powerful force transmit through his arm into his body. He couldn't help but crash onto the floor of Emerald Cloud Pavilion with a 'boom', creating a large crater in the wooden floor and sending splinters flying.

The surrounding guests had already quickly retreated. Cultivation was common, and it wasn't unusual for people to get into fights in places like brothels when angered. However, ordinary quarrels usually resulted in minor injuries. This clash was clearly different.

"It's Young Master Meng."Guests and brothel women alike watched from a distance, seeing the young master who had landed.The usually humble young master now exuded towering killing intent. The murderous aura in his eyes made the surrounding guests and brothel women tremble with fear, their legs turning to jelly.

"Young Master Meng, don't push your luck! If you force my hand, I'll drag you down with me!" Blood Hand Zhao Can stood up, his face twisted in a menacing snarl.

"Drag me down with you?" Meng Chuan walked closer. "With you?"

"Hmph."Zhao Can lunged towards the crowd, intending to grab hostages.

With his Thunder Godfiend Body activated, Meng Chuan became a mere blur, moving far faster than Zhao Can. Before Blood Hand Zhao Can could even grab a hostage, another saber strike arrived.

"Pfft." Blood Hand Zhao Can blocked with both hands. His hands, like cattail-leaf fans, defended perfectly, parrying two consecutive saber strikes from Meng Chuan.But then came the third strike.

"His strength seems greater than mine?" Blood Hand Zhao Can thought to himself. "I can't get entangled with him; I need to find a way to escape as fast as possible. It's night now... as long as I can shake him off under the cover of darkness, I'll have a chance to flee Dongning Prefecture."

"Whoosh."The third saber strike was still incredibly fast.

Blood Hand Zhao Can was about to block, but then he noticed the saber light seemed to become ethereal. His years of combat instinct made him instinctively retreat rapidly. That illusory saber light swept past him, barely missing his neck!

An arm flew into the air."My hand!" Blood Hand Zhao Can's eyes turned red. Although his experience allowed him to narrowly evade that terrifying strike, Meng Chuan still managed to sever one of Blood Hand Zhao Can's arms with the momentum.

"Run, run, run! My life depends on it!" Blood Hand Zhao Can suppressed his hatred, and at that moment, without hesitation, he unleashed a forbidden Godfiend technique. Instantly, his skin turned reddish, and his true qi burst forth to its limit. His speed and strength increased significantly. However, the longer he maintained this state, the greater the harm. Minor injuries might lead to a year or a year and a half of recovery for his muscles, bones, and meridians, while severe injuries to his internal organs or dantian could render him a cripple.But if he didn't use the forbidden Godfiend technique, he would undoubtedly die this time.

"Boom." With the forbidden Godfiend technique fully unleashed, Blood Hand Zhao Can violently slammed into the nearest wall. Tables, chairs, and benches in his path exploded, and the thick wooden wall was directly breached, creating a large hole through which he rushed outside.In his desperation to survive, he didn't even bother with doors or windows. He simply went straight through the wall.

"Hmph." With not a speck of blood on him, Meng Chuan, holding his saber, moved, transforming into a blur as he also pursued through the newly made hole.

Many of the guests at Emerald Cloud Pavilion finally breathed a sigh of relief. Some peered out through the windows, while many others stared at the severed arm on the ground, still wearing a black glove, marveling at it.

"The person being chased just now seemed to have Unblemished Realm strength as well.""His strength is still inferior to Young Master Meng.""Young Master Meng is from a Godfiend family; his Godfiend foundation is naturally much stronger. And it seems Young Master Meng's saber techniques are exquisite.""Indeed... Young Master Meng's saber techniques are probably at the peak of the Unity Realm. He might even comprehend 'force' in another year or two. How could an ordinary Unblemished Realm expert compare?" The guests discussed. Some bolder ones approached the severed arm and carefully removed the black glove, revealing a blood-red palm twice the size of an ordinary person's.

"Blood Demon Hand?""Someone practices such an evil technique? Could it be Blood Hand Zhao Can?""Blood Hand Zhao Can, the second-in-command of the Blood Cloud Bandits, an Unblemished Realm master. And he's being hunted by Young Master Meng! Young Master Meng's saber techniques are truly formidable. I fear he might indeed comprehend 'saber force' in another year or two.""How can an ordinary Unblemished Realm expert compare to a genius like Young Master Meng, who has the potential to become a Godfiend?"

Discussions filled the brothel, and a few daring individuals went outside to watch the pursuit. However, their speed was clearly no match for Meng Chuan or Blood Hand Zhao Can, who was using a forbidden Godfiend technique.

"Where was I exposed? Eleventh Sister's disguise technique is masterful; no one should have been able to see through it. Did that idiot accidentally blurt something out to those brothel women?" Blood Hand Zhao Can was both hateful and anxious, desperately fleeing.Meng Chuan pursued close behind.

After pursuing for about a li, the surroundings became quieter."Whoosh." Meng Chuan's speed suddenly surged again.

This was a joke.Meng Chuan, who cultivated the Thunder Godfiend Body and had comprehended 'force', could unleash a speed far surpassing Blood Hand Zhao Can. Even with Zhao Can using a forbidden Godfiend technique, he was still far behind. Back at Emerald Cloud Pavilion, with too many onlookers, Meng Chuan had only used about 30% of his strength, being just slightly stronger than Zhao Can. Only the strike that severed the arm had used 50% of his power. His grand-aunt had long instructed him to keep his comprehension of 'force' a secret until mid-next year.In front of others, it was natural to be more discreet.

"What?" Blood Hand Zhao Can was going mad, seeing Meng Chuan's speed suddenly surge from behind. "How is this possible?"

Meng Chuan, rapidly closing in, was so fast his body blurred. Blood Hand Zhao Can, an Unblemished Realm expert, could barely see him clearly. He suddenly noticed a gentle saber light approaching and quickly swung his left hand to block.

The saber light swirled.Ghostly fast.It sliced across his leg. *Pfft*, a leg flew into the air.

Without fully employing his 'saber force', Meng Chuan could unleash at most 50% of his power. This particular strike... while erupting with 50% of his strength, midway through the execution of the saber technique, he also infused it with his soul power. This increased the saber light's speed by another 30% as it approached Zhao Can, causing Blood Hand Zhao Can, who was using a forbidden Godfiend technique, to lose another leg in a single exchange.

Zhao Can crashed to the ground, now missing an arm and a leg. He looked desperate, though his Unblemished Realm control over his body still allowed the bleeding from his severed leg to slow down quickly.

"Young Master Meng, we have no grudge between us, you don't need to kill me," Zhao Can pleaded repeatedly. With a severed leg and an arm, he couldn't dodge at all. It would be too easy for Meng Chuan to kill him.But Zhao Can still wanted to live!He was an Unblemished Realm expert; even with a missing arm and leg, he could still live a relatively comfortable life.

"Oh? No grudge?" Meng Chuan walked towards Zhao Can. "Didn't you also harm over three hundred lives?"

"I have money and treasures," Zhao Can immediately said, taking out a thick stack of banknotes with his left hand from his embrace. "Here are nearly forty thousand taels in banknotes, and this, this is a Godfiend treasure."

Zhao Can then took out the black iron piece wrapped in cotton cloth. "This Godfiend treasure is worth one hundred thousand taels."He didn't mention that the Blood Cloud Bandits had tried to sell it for that much but hadn't succeeded.

"These are all yours, Young Master Meng, all yours," Zhao Can desperately pleaded. "Just spare my miserable life."

"You offer me your belongings to beg for mercy?" Meng Chuan continued to approach.

"I am the second-in-command of the Blood Cloud Bandits. I know the location of one of the Blood Cloud Bandits' hidden treasures," Zhao Can hastily said. "Just spare me, let me go, and I'll tell you."

"Pfft."The saber light flashed.Meng Chuan, now close, easily sliced across Zhao Can's neck with a saber strike infused with his soul power.

"You... you..." Zhao Can's eyes widened. Why wouldn't he give him a chance to live?

"Your bandit treasures hold no interest for me," Meng Chuan said indifferently, watching Zhao Can breathe his last.

Although the Blood Cloud Bandits were formidable, boasting eight Unblemished Realm experts, including a leader who had comprehended 'force', even that leader's strength was merely comparable to Meng Chuan's. Before the entire Meng family... what significance did a band of bandits' meager fortune hold? Meng Chuan didn't even care for it. The rare treasures of heaven and earth he had consumed to build his Godfiend foundation amounted to countless times the entire wealth of the Blood Cloud Bandits.Meng Chuan reached out and picked up the stack of banknotes. He then looked at the black iron piece partially exposed from the cotton cloth. "A Godfiend artifact? It seems quite damaged." Without much thought, Meng Chuan temporarily tucked it into his embrace.