“Thinking of leaving? Not happening!”
Zhao Hong and the others couldn’t let Chen Fan leave so easily. Zhao Hong swiftly moved, creating whirlwinds beneath his feet, overtaking Zhao Zhen and the others. He left the Zhao Clan’s mansion and pursued Chen Fan with determination.
That night, it could be said that the Zhao Clan suffered great humiliation.
They let Chen Fan infiltrate their mansion unnoticed, even evading the detection of a formidable expert at the ninth level like Zhao Hong.
Moreover, Chen Fan had not only killed Zhao Ru, but he also succeeded in nearly killing Zhao Feng right under their noses. So, no matter what, they couldn’t let him escape.
Unfortunately for them, Chen Fan quickly executed the Wings of Rain Dragon. His figure flickered several times before disappearing into the pitch-black night.
Zhao Hong chased him across half the imperial city, but he failed to catch up with Chen Fan.
Hovering in the air, Zhao Hong emitted a powerful and ominous aura, drawing attention from the imperial city's residents.
“That’s Zhao Hong, right? Why is he causing a commotion in the dead of night? Is he looking for a fight?"
“I sensed intense cultivation ripples from the Zhao Clan mansion earlier. Could someone have intruded, and they couldn't apprehend the intruder?"
“I saw a silhouette flash past earlier. It was so fast, like a blur.”
There were countless experts in the imperial city, but many still quickly recognized Zhao Hong. Seeing the fierce look on his face, the crowd’s eyes flickered.
Zhao Hong and the others returned to the Zhao Clan mansion. Zhao Feng approached them, still recovering from the shock. He inquired, “How is it? Did you capture him?”
The memory of the earlier incident still sent shivers down his spine.
If Zhao Hong hadn’t saved him, that mysterious person would have killed him with a single spear.
Zhao Hong and his companions wore grim expressions. Shaking his head, Zhao Hong responded, “Go investigate! Mobilize all the clan’s forces to track him down! Find him for me, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!”
From a dark and remote corner of the imperial city, Chen Fan staggered out with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth.
Chen Fan had to use all his strength to resist Zhao Hong’s terrifying slash, going as far as to use the attack’s momentum to retreat. The terrifying blade intent still reached him, wreaking havoc inside him.
The Heaven Seizing Furnace suppressed a lot of the damage; otherwise, his organs would have been shredded by the blade intent.
Zhao Hong’s attack showed the terrifying strength of someone at the ninth level.
Chen Fan took out a top-grade Recovery Pill and swallowed it, swiftly restoring a healthy color to his face.
Chen Fan had acquired numerous valuable elixirs from Loulan Ancient Imperial City's secret underground vault, including plenty of top-grade Recovery Pills. So, he was well-stocked.
“Hopefully, my operation tonight will divert the Zhao Clan’s attention onto me...”
A cold light flickered in Chen Fan’s eyes.
Having killed Zhao Ru, Chen Fan faced the risk of the Zhao Clan tracing the incident back to the Chen Clan through investigation. So, he had no choice but to make this desperate move to set up a diversion, shifting the Zhao Clan’s investigative efforts onto him alone.
None of them saw his true appearance since he had infiltrated the Zhao Clan’s mansion wearing a mask. Moreover, this being his first time in the city, the likelihood of them connecting him to the crime was low.
Even if it’s a success, the diversion won’t last long. If they fail to find out my identity, they’ll look elsewhere and trace Zhao Ru’s movements before his death. It seems I still have to visit the Zhao Clan mansion again. Should I kill a Zhao Clan higher-up again? That would be for the best.
Chen Fan decided on his next move and slowly walked back to the Calm Sun Marquis’ mansion.
The night passed quietly, and the next day, the entire imperial city buzzed with discussions about the incident at the Zhao Clan.
Last night, a huge commotion had occurred in the Zhao Clan mansion. Even Zhao Hong and the others showed themselves on the city’s streets, emitting intense killing intent. Many people saw them, so they couldn’t cover up this matter.
Within one night, news of the Zhao Clan incident spread throughout the city.
“Did you hear? A mysterious person infiltrated the Zhao Clan last night, and Zhao Feng was nearly killed in front of Zhao Hong and other high-ranking members."
“Hehe, forget Zhao Feng. I heard that mysterious person was there to deliver Zhao Ru’s corpse to them.”
“Heavens! Zhao Ru was at the peak of the seventh stage, only a step away from advancing to the eighth level. Moreover, he practiced the Myriad Poison Cultivation Technique, which is said to be incredibly difficult to deal with. It’s impossible for even an eighth-level Yuanfu realm powerhouse to kill him. Could that mysterious person be at the ninth level?”
“Who knows? In any case, the Zhao Clan suffered a huge loss last night. They still have no clue about the identity or appearance of the mysterious person."
The low hum of gossip echoed in various restaurants throughout the imperial city as people exchanged the latest news.
Calm Sun Marquis’ mansion:
Chen Fan was throwing punches in the courtyard, exercising. When the old maids in the mansion passed by, he heard them gossiping about what happened in the Zhao Clan.
In the midst of this, Chu Xuan'er's voice reached Chen Fan's ears even before she arrived.
“Big Brother Dongfan.”
“Xuan’er.” Chen Fan smiled when he saw Chu Xuan’er coming over.
“Did you hear, Big Brother Dongfan? Something huge happened in the Zhao Clan last night,” Chu Xuan’er said with a look of shock.
Pretending to be puzzled, Chen Fan asked, "What?"
“The entire imperial city is abuzz with this news. A mysterious expert sneaked into the Zhao Clan mansion and nearly killed a higher-up called Zhao Feng in front of their patriarch and other experts.
“Not only that, another higher-up, Zhao Ru, was also killed by this mysterious expert. He even delivered Zhao Ru's corpse to the Zhao Clan last night," Chu Xuan'er excitedly recounted, her face flushed with disbelief.
Obviously, she never imagined that someone would dare kill an expert of the Zhao Clan. Not only did they kill their people, but they even dared to sneak into the Zhao Clan in the night and deliver a corpse.
It served as both a provocation and a blatant disregard for the clan's authority.
“Something happened?! Do you know who did that?" Chen Fan feigned shock, questioning Chu Xuan'er.
Chu Xuan’er laughed and said, “Let alone knowing who he is, the Zhao Clan doesn’t even know what that mysterious person looks like. I heard he was wearing a mask and concealed his aura. Even Zhao Hong couldn’t sense it. I guess that it’s an enemy that the Zhao Clan has offended.”
Nodding, Chen Fan chose not to dwell on the matter. Shifting focus, he asked, “You came running here so early. Surely, you’re not here just to tell me about this, right?”
“Of course not.” Chu Xuan’er shook her head and continued, “I said I’ll introduce you to Nangong Wan’er. She’s a great beauty, okay.”
Chen Fan followed Chu Xuan’er and passed through several gardens and halls, finally arriving in a courtyard.
From afar, he saw a young woman dressed in an elegant outfit. Her appearance was out of the ordinary and carried an air of serenity about her. She looked ridiculously clean, with no speck of dust on her from head to toe. However, her brow was slightly furrowed, seemingly troubled by some matters.
Chen Fan didn’t need Chu Xuan’er’s introduction to know that she was Nangong Wan’er.