Zhang Linchuan suddenly attacked and assassinated Wei Quji.

Lu Yan wasn’t surprised at all, and just cackled, “Good boy.”

His Nether Eyes spun, retaking control of the great formation.

But Fang Zehou and the others who witnessed this scene were in deep shock.

They were shocked not only by Zhang Linchuan’s actions, but also by his strength.

At this moment, he stood calmly in the air, his aura relaxed. How could he only be at the Tongtian realm?

He had clearly already pushed open the gate of heaven and earth, his Dao veins ascended like dragons, and even… knocked open his inner palace.

If he wasn’t a powerhouse of the Inner Palace realm, even with a sneak attack, even with Wei Quji already so seriously injured, it would have been impossible to kill him with a single blow.

It was all fake.

Fighting hard and losing at the Three Cities Dao Debate, waiting quietly for a year to enter the National Dao Academy at the next Three Cities Dao Debate…

It was all fake.

He simply wanted to stay in Maple Leaf City to prepare for this very day.

He was simply a member of the White Bone Dao!

Fang Heling finally understood why Zhang Linchuan had asked where Dong A was, and didn’t care about anything else.

Because at the moment his identity was exposed, assassinating Dong A was the best option.

If not Dong A, then Wei Quji.

“Go!” Fang Zehou took two quick steps, grabbing Fang Heling, and said, “Let’s go!”

“No, Dad.” Fang Heling broke free again. He laughed and said, “I bet right! My chance has come!”

He strode forward and called out, “Brother Zhang! So you joined the White Bone Dao too! Is there anything this little brother can help with?”

Zhang Linchuan didn’t look at Wei Quji’s corpse, nor did he look at Fang Heling. Instead, he looked up at Lu Yan and said lightly, “Elder, focus on your work.”

As he spoke, he took out a mask and gently pressed it to his face.

The mask was actually made of white bone.

And he suddenly turned his head!

In the direction of the south gate stood a cultivator holding a long knife upside down.

His black hair was like ink, and his long knife was like forged snow.

It was Wei Yan.

Judging from the timing, he must have just witnessed the assassination of Wei Quji.

His expression was strange.

It was as if there was no anger.

Or as if there was only anger.

Wei Yan had never been a man of many words.

So his steps began to move, and he began to charge forward.

Towards the City Lord’s Mansion, towards Zhang Linchuan, he launched a charge!

“White Bone Envoy!” Watching Zhang Linchuan put on the white bone mask with his own eyes, Fang Heling became excited, “So you are the White Bone Envoy! So it was Brother Zhang who brought me into the sect!”

Long before he even came into contact with the White Bone Dao, he had maintained a good personal relationship with Zhang Linchuan. Now that he knew that this person was the White Bone Envoy, he felt even closer to him.

Fang Zehou stood in front of him, lowered his voice, and shouted, “Stop talking! It’s too dangerous here. Let’s leave with your Uncle Li.”

“What’s dangerous? The White Bone Dao is in charge here now!” Fang Heling was impatient with his father’s timidity, but after all, he was his own father, so he shouted at Zhang Linchuan again, “Brother Zhang, my dad is here. The city is so chaotic right now, I’m afraid fellow believers will accidentally hurt him. Can you think of a way? Help me out?”

“Is there any proof of identity…”

His voice stopped abruptly.

All he saw was a ball of lightning exploding on Fang Zehou.

And Fang Zehou only had time to take a heavy step back before twitching and charring in front of his son, never to make another sound.

No one knew how an ordinary person with no cultivation was able to move that one step in the powerful lightning.

No one knew what supported him in making the reaction to move away from his son in the moment before his death.

The vast majority of transcendents below the Tongtian realm would be instantly killed by this lightning strike.

They wouldn’t even be able to blink, there wouldn’t be enough time.

But Fang Zehou struggled to create a step of distance.

This was just an ordinary mortal.

Just an ordinary father.

And he died.

“Inane.”

Zhang Linchuan shook his hand, which was still emitting green smoke, turned around, and pounced on Wei Yan, who was rushing at him with his knife!

There was no pre-battle banter, nor was there any stalemate.

Only in the instant when the two sides approached did the fierce battle erupt.

Fang Heling opened his mouth wide, wanting to shout something, but no sound came out.

Zhang Linchuan did solve his father’s safety problem, but in a way that he was absolutely unwilling to accept.

His father was casually killed in front of him, as easily and casually as killing a chicken. But because of the lightning that was still roaring on the corpse, he didn’t even dare to reach out and touch it.

He couldn’t figure out why.

Wasn’t he also a member of the White Bone Dao? He had done so many things for the White Bone Dao!

Could it be that the White Bone Dao caused such a degree of terrestrial disaster today, launching such a powerful and thorough operation, without the full help and cover of his Fang family?

How many times had he been interrogated by the Arrest and Punishment Division for the sake of the White Bone Dao? How much risk had he taken? How much had he sacrificed?

Didn’t anyone care?

Why?

Why?

“Go!”

The Li Offering grabbed Fang Heling and turned to run out of the city.

He was angry in his heart, but he suppressed it firmly.

In any case, Fang Zehou had been kind to him. If he couldn’t protect Fang Zehou, he had to at least protect his son.

Even if this kid was so stupid!

Fang Zehou had seen it at a glance, but Fang Heling couldn’t understand it at all. From beginning to end, he was completely out of Zhang Linchuan’s sight.

His expressions of loyalty, determination, and merit were nothing but annoying.

Perhaps only until today, until this moment.

Did he recognize himself, but it was already too late.

Zhang Linchuan and Wei Yan briefly touched each other like lightning.

They separated as quickly as they met.

Wei Yan spat blood and retreated, while Zhang Linchuan was wrapped in lightning, like a god.

Zhang Linchuan’s expression couldn’t be seen under the white bone mask, but his voice was cold: “You actually dared to draw your knife against me. It seems that I’ve really let you misunderstand for too long. Do you really think that Zhu is the boss, and you’re the second?”

The ranking on the Maple Leaf City Dao Academy’s Dao Merit List had always been Zhu Weiwo, Wei Yan, Zhang Linchuan, in that order.

Even if these top three squandered a lot of Dao Merit, the cultivators after them would consciously control the amount of Dao Merit they had, and lower their rankings accordingly. This was respect for the strong.

But no one had ever thought that the real strongest was Zhang Linchuan.

He was not only stronger than all the students in the Maple Leaf City Dao Academy, but also stronger by a large margin, so strong that there was a world of difference.

He was so strong, but it seemed to have no impact on Wei Yan.

Fast Snow wanted to drink blood, no matter how strong the opponent was.
Wei Yan didn’t bother wiping off the bloodstains. Instead, he crushed the blue bricks underfoot and charged forward with his blade.

The flash of his blade, “Quick Snow,” was like a streak of startled rainbow across the sky, originating from Wei Yan and descending upon Zhang Linchuan.

Zhang Linchuan flicked his finger, striking the blade of Quick Snow.

Lightning erupted from his fingertip, racing along the blade.

Wei Yan swiftly released and re-gripped the hilt, dodging the lightning, and then slashed upwards!

He cut into a mass of lightning.

He was fast, but Zhang Linchuan was faster.

The lightning exploded.

Wei Yan forcefully suppressed the numbness and tightened his grip on the blade, but he was blasted back once again.

Zhang Linchuan stepped forward, reaching out, but then suddenly retreated!

A boundless golden light engulfed him in an instant.

It was the Gold Light Killing Array, a Grade B, Low Rank Taoist art that Wei Yan had set up in advance, using himself as bait.

This tactic bore a resemblance to Zhang Linchuan’s strategy against Lin Zhengren during the Three Cities Taoist Debate.

It was all about prediction.

As the Gold Light Killing Array erupted, countless golden light arrows suddenly appeared in the air, whistling as they rained down into the array.

All the golden light arrows were aimed at Zhang Linchuan.

At this moment in Maple Leaf City, only one person could wield the golden light arrows with such power: Shen Nanqi, formerly ranked fifth on the Tao Merit List!

He had arrived on the battlefield unnoticed, but this attack had clearly been brewing for a long time.

The combination of the two attacks created a deadly, inescapable situation.

The golden light dissipated, and a colossal skeletal frame slowly rose to its feet.

A pair of bony hands opened, and Zhang Linchuan stepped down from them, unharmed.

He walked down step by step, floating in the air, and the giant skeleton gradually dissolved.

Thunder magic was merely a disguise he used at the City Taoist Academy. His true power lay in the necromantic Taoist arts of the White Bone sect.

“Not bad, Shen Nanqi. You have finally opened the Gate to Heaven and Earth.”

Despite his words of praise, there was no smile in Zhang Linchuan’s eyes beneath his mask.

He abruptly pulled his hands apart, and a gate of white bone formed in the high sky with a hissing sound.

A faint roar echoed from within the void.

“Get out of here! I don’t need you meddling in my affairs!”

Wei Yan grabbed Shen Nanqi and flung him backward, then charged forward with his blade.

He had not expected Shen Nanqi to appear.

Nor had he expected Shen Nanqi to help him.

Years ago, he had chosen to abandon their mutual friend, effectively ending their friendship.

He didn’t regret it.

If Shen Nanqi had been the one in danger back then, he would have made the same choice.

Because it was the right thing to do.

Better to save one life than to lose both.

He had no regrets about his choice, and he was prepared to be hated to death by Shen Nanqi for it.

So, if Shen Nanqi saw this scene today and chose to turn away, he wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed.

He fully understood the concepts of abandonment and being abandoned.

After all, this Zhang Linchuan was too strong.

The gap between the Soaring Dragon Realm and the Inner Mansion Realm was significant, and he didn’t even know if Zhang Linchuan possessed his own seed of supernatural power, he hadn’t pushed Zhang Linchuan that far.

Therefore, he should have turned and fled the moment he saw Wei Quji being attacked. That was the most logical choice.

Because with Wei Quji’s death, the last glimmer of hope for the entire Maple Leaf City region had been extinguished.

He should have made that choice.

He had always made such choices.

He deeply resented Wei Quji, yet he was unconsciously influenced by him.

He hated him, yet he seemed to be becoming him.

But today, he had drawn his blade.

He didn’t even understand why.

Suicide wasn’t something he would do.

But if he didn’t draw his blade this time, it felt like Quick Snow would never be unsheathed again.

If he didn’t embrace death this time, it felt like he would suffer more than death itself.

He knew in his heart what he should do, but he couldn’t control himself.

He lowered Quick Snow diagonally and charged forward, dragging the blade along the ground.

He said silently in his heart:

I’m sorry. Perhaps my choices have always been too cold.

But this is the way I have learned to choose.

I was chosen in this way, and my mother also died because of such a choice.

Finally, this time, I have made a ridiculous choice.

But strangely, I didn’t laugh.

I didn’t laugh.

He thought.

He suddenly raised the blade, like a bolt of white silk, like a crescent moon, hanging across the sky!

At this moment, he heard a voice, coming from behind him, chasing after him.

“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

It was Shen Nanqi’s voice.