Seeing no one respond, Xu Xing gathered the last vestiges of his magic power and flew east of the Capital. After flying roughly a thousand paces, he noticed several Innate Martial Artists distantly tailing him.
They were two chief monks, one from the Tongtian Institute and one from the Mituo Temple, along with a Chief Capture Officer from the Six Fan Gate. These three individuals were mingling within the crowd, but Xu Xing, having scouted the Capital earlier, recognized them easily.
The bold are gorged to death, the timid starve to death...
My battle with Fa Hui transcended the Innate Realm. Many people must be coveting the methods that allowed us to surpass the Innate. I didn’t kill them just now... How could warriors who reached the Innate Realm all be fools? They’re waiting for me to exhaust my strength, then they’ll swarm me like hyenas and tear me apart...
One should never underestimate the heroes of this world.
Xu Xing slowed his flight, pondering his next move against these adversaries.
His killing of Fa Hui had indeed deterred the crowd to some extent.
But... since he hadn’t eliminated all the villains present who harbored malicious designs on him, any experienced Jianghu person would deduce that his current state was likely far from optimal.
Three Innate Martial Artists. In a one-on-one fight, a single Great Imperial Court Sword Qi could eliminate one of them.
However, with his current magic power, he could unleash two at most. But if the three attacked together, his two Sword Qi strikes might not be entirely effective...
Shaoqing, Xu Xing arrived at a dense forest outside the Capital.
"This is the supreme secret technique of my School..."
"Today, I admit defeat. I am indeed no match for the three of you. What you seek is merely a manual for further advancement, and I shall give it to you now."
"After all, whether one person practices it or two, what does it matter..."
"If you truly insist on a fight to the death..."
"Taking one or two of you to hell with me wouldn’t be too difficult."
Drawing the copper slip from his sleeve, Xu Xing stood atop a towering ancient tree. He fixed his gaze on the three Innate experts, who appeared well-rested and had halted their pursuit, then spoke slowly, word by word.
Humans die for wealth, as birds die for food. This saying holds true, yet those of high station are seldom willing to carelessly throw away their lives.
The greater their status, the more they fear death.
Once he threw the secret manual to them, even if these three Innate experts still intended to kill him, their attention would be divided the moment it left his hands. Their divided attention would facilitate his next move. Even if this tactic failed, it could still buy him some time to recover his magic power.
Furthermore, this copper slip... was the very item that had tempted all the High Monks of the Heavenly Dragon Temple.
It was an object of the Devil’s Path.
It was exceptionally potent at stirring human desires.
A single peach to kill three warriors!
"Heavenly Kun King..."
"As long as you hand over this copper slip, the three of us will willingly retreat."
Chief Capture Officer Guo Xia of the Six Fan Gate glanced at the copper slip in Xu Xing’s hand, a flicker of greed in his eyes. On the surface, however, he maintained an air of righteous chivalry, appearing anything but a man driven by avarice.
Although the three had already deduced that Heavenly Kun King Chang Kun was, in fact, Rebel Monk Zhi Xing of Tianlong Temple, exposing Xu Xing’s true identity would reduce their room for maneuver.
Zhi Xing was a demon publicly acknowledged by all Jianghu Sects.
Although Heavenly Kun King Chang Kun had killed National Master Monk Fa Hui, the Imperial Court had not yet issued a warrant for Xu Xing’s arrest. National Master Monk Fa Hui also had a notorious reputation within the Imperial Court. The Little Emperor and the Civil & Military Officers would likely rejoice rather than rage at National Master Monk Fa Hui’s death...
Although the two High Monks from the Tongtian Institute and Mituo Temple merely uttered a Buddhist chant, their expressions suggested they tacitly approved of Chief Capture Officer Guo Xia’s proposed course of action.
The three exchanged furtive glances, having already decided to deal with Xu Xing once they obtained the copper slip.
Letting a tiger return to the mountains is inviting future disaster.
If they let Xu Xing escape today, he would surely kill them in the future, just as he had slaughtered the monks of Heavenly Dragon Temple and National Master Monk Fa Hui. It would be an endless scourge.
As they spoke, the three subtly shifted their positions, gradually encircling Xu Xing.
"Masters, Chief Guo..."
"I hope you will honor your words."
After a moment of silence, Xu Xing seemed to truly resign himself to his fate. Just as the three were growing impatient, he sighed and tossed the copper slip directly to Chief Capture Officer Guo Xia of the Six Fan Gate.
The Buddhist Powers were always united.
Had he thrown it to either High Monk from the Tongtian Institute or Mituo Temple, the other would have supported their companion. Throwing it to Guo Xia, however, was a different matter. Guo Xia was an Imperial Court official, not aligned with the Tongtian Institute and Mituo Temple. Moreover, compared to the Buddhist cultivators, whose Zen hearts were difficult to sway, worldly dignitaries were more susceptible to the Heavenly Demon Copper Scroll’s allure, their inner demons easily stirred...
Seeing the copper slip land in Guo Xia’s hands, the two monks exchanged a look and pressed closer to him.
"After we kill this Heavenly Kun King," Guo Xia quickly assured them, though he inwardly felt a sense of unease, "we can each transcribe a copy of the technique from the copper slip."
Hearing this, the two monks took a step back, yet continued to use their movement techniques to block Xu Xing’s escape routes.
But what happened next greatly exceeded the two monks’ expectations.
No sooner had Chief Capture Officer Guo Xia finished speaking than he eagerly opened the copper slip. He muttered, "Heavenly Emperor Unfettered Technique, his body transforms into the Heavenly Emperor..."
"This is the Heavenly Emperor Technique! The Heavenly Emperor Technique!"
His expression turned frenzied. He shoved the copper slip into his robes and was about to flee.