Chapter 203: A Thousand Calculations, One Blade Cuts Off an Arm
"Truly escaped the city? How could it be so fast?"
Zheng Jia Old Woman roared in fury and shock, sensing Lu Qing’s presence just beyond the city walls.
She had raced without pause, pouring every ounce of strength into her movement, driving toward the city gate with all haste. Yet that little beast had still managed to get ahead of her—escaping the city before she even arrived?
At that moment, she sensed Lu Qing’s aura suddenly weaken—drastically, as if he’d suffered a grievous injury.
"See how you run now?!" Zheng Jia Old Woman’s heart leapt with triumph.
Of course she knew—this little wretch must have used some forbidden technique that drained his body. Only then could he have outrun her. Otherwise, how could a Hou Tian Jing cultivator possibly match the speed of a Xian Tian Jing master?
But any technique capable of matching a Xian Tian Jing’s speed would carry a heavy price.
Now, with his aura so diminished, it was clear—the technique’s time limit had expired, and its backlash had finally struck.
With that conclusion, Zheng Jia Old Woman didn’t hesitate. She tossed her Guard aside with a flick of her wrist and charged forward into the open fields beyond the city.
Delaying now would only give the little scoundrel another chance to vanish again with that concealment spell.
After all this pursuit, she had finally figured it out—the boy’s method of hiding his aura couldn’t last. It had a time limit.
Otherwise, he could just keep hiding, burrowing into some corner of Zhou Fu Cheng. With his cunning, even she would struggle to find him again in such a vast city.
As she burst through the gate, the Guard she’d thrown down crashed hard onto the ground, skull splitting open in a spray of blood.
Had he not been a martial cultivator with some basic foundation, his bones already set, he’d have died on the spot from that fall.
"Lao Chen, are you alright?"
His companion, who had cowered silently nearby, rushed forward and helped him up.
"I’m fine… though half my life’s already gone," Lao Chen groaned, his face pale. His inner organs ached, his qi scattered.
He knew he was badly injured—months of rest would be needed before he could recover fully.
"Who was that woman just now… the Zheng family’s Ancestor? Who could possibly have angered her so?"
His companion began, but before he could finish, his body froze.
Another surge of powerful auras appeared at the city gate.
Among them, one figure stood out.
"City Lord?" Lao Chen gasped, stunned.
"You’re injured. Who did this?"
The City Lord, though unfamiliar with the two guards, recognized their uniforms—City Gate sentries.
"Your Excellency, a hunched old woman with a Dragon Head Cane," Lao Chen replied, heart pounding. The City Lord’s calm concern filled him with both surprise and gratitude.
Despite his fury toward the old woman, he dared not speak ill of her.
"Then it was her."
A refined elder spoke, voice calm. "Young man, do you know why she left the city?"
"I don’t know exactly… but she seemed to be chasing someone. A figure bolted out earlier—she went after him, calling him a ‘little beast’—clearly hated him."
Lao Chen summarized the scene in a few brief words.
"A little beast?"
The elders exchanged glances, surprised.
"Who is this person, that he could provoke such fury from her? She even used Xian Tian Pressure inside the city, then chased him out—beyond the walls!"
The incident had unfolded too quickly. The several Xian Tian Jing masters hadn’t yet learned what had happened in Zheng Fu. And being too far behind, they hadn’t sensed Lu Qing at all.
For now, they were all baffled.
"Hmph. Doesn’t matter why. Just follow and see," the City Lord sneered.
"Zheng Jia Old Woman has trespassed the city’s rules three times now. This time she wounded our gate guards. Last time, I let it slide—out of pity for her loss of grandson. But she clearly thinks this Cang Zhou Fu Cheng has no laws?"
"Fine. Then let’s go and see what’s really happening."
The refined elders knew the City Lord was truly angered.
In Zhou Fu Cheng, their Xian Tian Jing clans had long balanced against the City Lord’s authority—tense, even antagonistic. Now, with this repeated violation, the elders were no longer willing to stand by.
They leapt into motion, following the trail beyond the city walls.
Left behind, the guards at the gate stared at each other, utterly confused. What had happened in the city to rouse even the City Lord?
"Little beast… where do you think you can run to?"
Just as the elders vanished beyond the gate, nearly ten miles outside Zhou Fu Cheng, Zheng Jia Old Woman finally caught sight of Lu Qing’s back again.
Joy surged in her chest—but so did a flicker of shock.
This boy’s endurance was truly terrifying.
She had chased him from the city, through multiple uses of that strange, aura-hiding technique. If not for the open ground and the clear footprints left behind, she might have lost him entirely.
But now, her heart settled.
She could feel it—his aura had weakened even further. His speed had dropped drastically, his movements unsteady, his frame staggering.
He was spent.
In mere breaths, she would catch him.
As if realizing escape was impossible, Lu Qing abruptly stopped. He leaned his back against a massive boulder, gasping for air, drenched in sweat, eyes blazing with fury as he stared at her.
"Run, then. Why don’t you run? Little beast—where else can you go?"
Seeing Lu Qing finally halt, Zheng Jia Old Woman slowed her pace. She didn’t rush.
She walked forward slowly, savoring the moment.
She saw the hatred in his eyes—and it filled her with delight.
"Little beast… don’t worry. Wait until I cut off your limbs, one by one, and slowly torture you. I hope you still have that fire in your eyes then. Otherwise, it’d be such a waste."
A cruel smile curled her lips. Her words were pure venom.
She hated Lu Qing with every fiber of her being. She wouldn’t let him die quickly.
She would capture him—break him utterly—before releasing the fury that had burned inside her for years.
Just like she had done to that seductive whore who’d ensnared her eldest son… and led him to his death.
Lu Qing remained silent, eyes locked on her, teeth bared in silent defiance.
But Zheng Jia Old Woman only felt greater satisfaction.
With a smile, she raised her Dragon Head Cane. A flick of her wrist, and several transparent threads of qi shot forth—stabbing toward Lu Qing’s limbs, pinning him in place.
Just as the force was about to shatter his arms—
Lu Qing suddenly grinned.
Behind him, the boulder exploded into fragments.
In an instant, he vanished.
The next moment, he stood less than two meters from Zheng Jia Old Woman.
Swish!
A blade, dazzling white and sharp as winter frost, flashed through the air.
A wrinkled, bark-like arm fell to the ground.
And with it, a single, calm voice:
"Old Woman… you said you’d cut off whose limbs?"
(End of Chapter)
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