Chapter 21: Night Deep (1 / 1)
As dusk approached, the setting sun sank in the west.
On the second floor of an inn within the territory of the Sunset Water Alliance.
Jiang Li leaned against the windowsill, his gaze falling on the people coming and going through the entrance of a shop across the street.
That shop was the public face of the Sunset Water Alliance; one only needed to spend some money to get information about it.
"Tonight should be lively."
Jiang Li murmured to himself, a faint smile hanging at the corner of his lips.
As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped looking and turned toward the bathroom, planning to take a shower first.
——
Soon, as night fell, the streets were already empty.
Even so, two people still stood guard at the entrance of the Sunset Water Alliance's storefront.
The two stood on either side of the doorway, occasionally yawning.
"We've been on night duty every day this week. My body's about to give out. Tomorrow we must go eat something good to replenish ourselves."
The man standing on the left side of the door suddenly opened his mouth to start a conversation.
The other person nodded upon hearing this and agreed, "That's right. We haven't eaten in a long time. How about we go together tomorrow?"
"Sure. I'll personally take you out tomorrow for a proper feast."
The man who initiated the topic slightly nodded, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
And while the two were chatting, Jiang Li slowly walked out from the darkness of the street.
His appearance immediately drew the attention of the two guards.
After noticing that there was no soul power fluctuation on Jiang Li's body, the two exchanged a glance.
Both saw bloodthirsty excitement in each other's eyes.
So one of them questioned Jiang Li.
"Hey! What are you doing out here in the middle of the night instead of going home to sleep? Kid, are you trying to sneak into our shop to steal something?"
As he spoke, he directly blocked Jiang Li's path.
Seeing this, Jiang Li smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I really am going in."
As soon as the words fell, his figure vanished from the spot.
The pupils of the two guards contracted sharply. Just as they were about to react, a chilling sting appeared on their necks.
Puchi——
The next second, the two collapsed straight down without any chance to struggle, not even able to make a sound.
Jiang Li stepped over the corpses and lightly hooked his finger at the lock on the shop door.
With a "click," the lock opened.
Without another word, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The shop was completely dark, with only a faint moonlight seeping in through the windows, barely outlining the shapes of the shelves.
Jiang Li did not light any source of illumination. Relying solely on his sharp perception, he followed the faint smell of blood in the air toward the back of the shop.
The floor there felt different underfoot—slightly soft.
Jiang Li tapped the corner of the floorboard with his finger. With a soft "click," a wooden panel popped open, revealing a pitch-black staircase below.
The staircase led underground. The deeper he went, the stronger the smell of blood and decay became.
Jiang Li did not pause at all, descending silently like a ghost in the night.
The underground space was far larger than expected. What came into view was a crisscrossing network of passages, with dim oil lamps hanging on the walls, flickering in and out of light.
From the rooms on both sides of the corridors, suppressed cries and the sound of chains occasionally echoed.
Clearly, this was the prison where the Sunset Water Alliance kept the soul masters they had abducted.
Jiang Li's gaze turned colder as he pulled the Soul-Breaking Blade from Xiao You's mouth.
"Who's there?"
At that moment, a wary shout came from ahead.
Two members of the Sunset Water Alliance in black clothes quickly approached, their scarred faces illuminated by the oil lamps' glow.
Jiang Li did not answer. His figure flickered as he instantly closed in like a ghost.
The two men's pupils contracted sharply, just as they were about to react, a flash of cold light passed before their eyes.
The next second, a sharp pain erupted in their necks as blood splattered onto the ground in front of them.
Without even a chance to scream, they collapsed straight down.
Jiang Li did not stop and continued walking deeper underground.
Every member of the Sunset Water Alliance he encountered along the way—whether patrol guards or managers sorting "goods" inside rooms—failed to escape his slaughter.
His movements were clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Wherever the Soul-Breaking Blade passed, blood would inevitably splash, and the fallen people could not even see his figure clearly.
Screams echoed continuously through the corridors, quickly alarming the mid-level experts of the Sunset Water Alliance.
"Enemy attack! An assassin has broken in!"
A roar echoed through the underground space, followed immediately by three powerful soul force fluctuations surging toward Jiang Li's direction.
These three were all Soul King-level experts. Working together, they were enough to crush an ordinary Soul Emperor.
"Kid, daring to break into the Sunset Water Alliance's territory—you're courting death!"
The leading burly man held a giant axe. As his soul power surged, a cold light flickered on the axe blade.
Jiang Li stopped and looked at the three of them, sneering.
"Rats will always be rats, yet you even gave yourselves a name like Sunset Water Alliance."
"Arrogant!"
The burly man roared and swung his giant axe down at Jiang Li.
The blade tore through the air, producing a piercing howl as if space itself were being ripped apart.
The other two did not hold back either. One on the left and one on the right, after manifesting their martial souls, they reached for Jiang Li's limbs, attempting to restrain him.
Facing their combined attack, Jiang Li did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward.
"Seeking death!"
A cruel glint flashed in the burly man's eyes. He was certain this brat was a reckless fool with no soul power. This strike would surely split him in half.
However, the next second, something terrifying happened.
Jiang Li's hand firmly caught the axe blade, and no matter how hard the burly man tried, he could not move it even an inch.
"How… how is this possible?"
The burly man's eyes widened in disbelief.
The smile on Jiang Li's lips deepened as he applied slight force with his wrist.
Crack!
With a sharp sound, the extremely sturdy giant axe was actually broken by him.
Before the burly man could recover from his shock, Jiang Li kicked out, striking his chest directly.
Puff!
The burly man spat blood, his body flying backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily into the wall. The sound of bones shattering was clearly audible as he died on the spot.
The other two, seeing this, were terrified out of their wits. They no longer dared to fight and turned to flee.
Jiang Li simply flickered, and their heads rolled to the ground, eyes wide with fear and unwillingness.
After dealing with the three of them, Jiang Li continued deeper underground.
The remaining members of the Sunset Water Alliance were already terrified, scattering in all directions.
But before Jiang Li's absolute strength, their escape was meaningless.
Screams and the smell of blood filled the entire underground space. The once arrogant members of the Sunset Water Alliance had become lambs waiting to be slaughtered, waiting only for death in despair.
Jiang Li fought his way all the way to the deepest part of the underground space.
There lay a spacious underground cavern, with an altar placed at its center.
Surrounding the altar were dozens of corpses scattered everywhere—members of the Sunset Water Alliance.
Jiang Li stood on the altar, scanning the scene of devastation, his brows slightly furrowed.
Because he still had not seen those evil soul masters that Du Bu Si wanted to kill.
But at that moment, a cold voice echoed from the shadows.
"Such ruthless methods. You've actually wiped out my Sunset Water Alliance completely."
.........…