Regardless of how the situation unfolded, Yue Leng had returned. As per the agreement between Jiang Wang and Ma Xiong, he was now free to depart.

Jiang Wang did not hesitate, not even offering a parting word to either Ma Xiong or Yue Leng before he left.

Yin Guan’s decisive strike, the slaying of Tai Shan Wang to silence him, could be seen as an attempt to regain a sliver of anonymity. However, it also exposed the dire straits of the Hell No Door assassins. Tai Shan Wang’s capture, coupled with Yin Guan’s risky move of silencing him, suggested that he had no better options. To play on the timing and evade Yue Leng was a precarious feat, a gamble with his very life.

And for Yue Leng, the silencing of his captive was an undeniable and severe provocation. This meant that his subsequent pursuit would be far more relentless.

With the presence of top-tier Outer Mansion assassins from Hell No Door and powerful individuals like Shen Lin among the pursuers, a full-blown conflict would be intense. Jiang Wang had no desire to be caught in the crossfire.

Were he powerful enough to dominate the entire scene, perhaps he could dictate the flow of events. But for now, self-preservation was paramount. His low-key departure was a reflection of this. By not offering greetings, he aimed to avoid any misfortune or unforeseen complications. Given Yue Leng’s standing in the North Yamen, should he genuinely invoke the badge on Jiang Wang to compel his participation in the investigation, refusal would be difficult.

In any case, Ma Xiong had given his word. As for any future shifts in the situation or changing circumstances, Jiang Wang didn’t dwell on them. Let those individuals fight it out; he needed to conclude his affairs here swiftly and then hasten to An An.

Jiang Wang’s quiet departure went largely unnoticed. For those who harbored doubts, Ma Xiong would offer explanations later.

What surprised Jiang Wang, however, was that Lin You Xie followed him out, yet remained silent.

“Is there something?” Jiang Wang stopped to ask after they had walked out of the station.

“Let’s walk together for a while, I’ll see you off,” Lin You Xie said.

Simply showing a familiar face and leaving constituted “walking together for a while”? Walking together doing what? Staring blankly together?

“Your heart is appreciated, please return.”

“Alright, I’ll head back now,” Lin You Xie said, though her feet remained rooted. “Right, before leaving, there’s still a question I wanted to ask you. Is it convenient?”

“It’s not convenient,” Jiang Wang refused without hesitation.

But Lin You Xie seemed to have not heard the refusal and instead pressed on, “I noticed when Coroner Wang was executed by the five punishments, Captain Ma and the others were somewhat relaxed, but your expression was very cautious. You seemed quite familiar with Coroner Wang?”

Her gaze, accompanying the question, seemed to sweep over him casually, but Jiang Wang knew that his every subtle emotion was being observed – observed to the utmost.

Jiang Wang did not conceal his displeasure. With eyes of abnormal gravity, he looked at Lin You Xie. “I know you possess strong investigative abilities, and I also know that as a senior captain, you may habitually harbor suspicion towards certain people or matters. But please exercise some restraint. I am not your criminal!”

Regardless of her talent in solving cases, of her lineage as a renowned captain for generations…

In front of the current Jiang Wang, her Teng Long realm cultivation was her greatest weakness.

The moment Jiang Wang’s demeanor turned stern, the powerful killing intent he carried instantly made it difficult for Lin You Xie to breathe. She might not fear Jiang Wang in her heart, nor believe he would harm her, but the suppression of pure strength was something willpower could not overcome.

She had long known of this handsome youth’s terrifying strength, but only at this moment did she truly grasp the concept of the terrifying strength that had directly defeated Wang Yi Wu and Lei Zhan Qian. Among all the Inner Mansion realm captains she knew, not a single one could exert the kind of pressure on her that Jiang Wang did!

Only when Lin You Xie’s face was flushed from the suppression did Jiang Wang release his momentum.

“Our conversation ends here,” he said.

He then departed directly, no longer lingering.

Jiang Wang’s destination was Nan Yao City in Chi Yang County. Bei County was situated slightly south-east of Lin Zi, while Chi Yang County lay to the southwest of Bei County. Between Bei County and Chi Yang County, there was a narrow corridor through the Chang Qiao Mountain, belonging to Qiao Mountain County.

In terms of land area, within the entire Qi Country, Qiao Mountain County could be considered a small county. Its only claim to fame was probably the Qiao Mountain corridor itself.

Jiang Wang flew directly over the Qiao Mountain corridor, landing after entering Chi Yang County. He did not waste much time on the journey. This was also a benefit of wearing the Qing Pai badge. The identity of a Qing Pai captain was recognized throughout Qi Country. If an unknown individual were to suddenly take flight, they would have been shot down long ago.

It had been a while since he had seen Lian Que, and he seemed a little rougher around the edges. The dark parts of his face were darker, the red parts redder. But his cultivation had progressed, and he had impressively reached the Inner Mansion realm. He had seized the opportunity of forging a famous artifact to break through the Heaven Gate in one go, reaching the Teng Long realm even earlier than Jiang Wang. As the master forger of the famous artifact Long Xiang Si, there was no reason for him to be stuck before the Inner Mansion.

However, he had not perceived a divine ability seed on his own and had not succeeded within the Tian Fu secret realm. Therefore, he had not chosen a divine ability.

Although it had been a while since they last met, the two did not feel estranged. Their friendship had been tested and would not be easily eroded by time.

Sitting now in Lian Que’s mansion, the two men sat opposite each other, drinking.

Under Zhong Xuan Sheng’s subtle guidance, Lian Que had leveraged the momentum from forging the famous artifact and had already gained a certain authority within the Lian family. He was now one of the strongest contenders for the position of Lian clan head. This could be seen from his aura now, which was completely different from before.

And the reason Jiang Wang had personally traveled to Nan Yao City was the same as his challenge to Lei Zhan Qian in Lin Zi. It was to ride the momentum of his great victory over Lei Zhan Qian and come to Nan Yao City to support Lian Que.

In the selection of the family head, connections were also a very important factor. Especially for a family like the Lian clan, whose own combat power was not particularly strong, they often needed to rely more on powerful allies to maintain the family’s prestige.

Initially, Zhong Xuan Sheng had planned to use Lian Que as a hidden move. He would secretly guide and support him, allowing Lian Que to control the Lian family. Then, Lian Que would in turn use the power of the Lian clan to support him in his competition with Zhong Xuan Zun.

However, plans could not keep pace with changes. The situation was now vastly different. Since Wang Yi Wu had been forced out of Lin Zi, Zhong Xuan Sheng no longer needed the support of the Lian family as much. As he himself analyzed, his current focus was shifting towards personal cultivation.

Then, putting his relationship with Lian Que on the surface was not hindering. It benefited both of them in their competition for the family head position. For Lian Que, the benefits were undoubtedly greater, but there was no need to argue about this. Lian Que was not an ungrateful person.

The major events in Lin Zi City had not completely escaped the notice of the Lian family. In fact, until he saw Jiang Wang in person, Lian Que still felt a sense of unreality regarding the widely spread and heated battles. The last time they met, although Jiang Wang had also defeated the Fourteenth Prince, Jiang Wu Yong, and been quite impressive, the process was not that easy. Who could have imagined that Jiang Wang could now face Wang Yi Wu, who was in the same realm, as an enemy and emerge victorious?

Lian Que drained a cup, grinning and laughing. “I knew you wouldn’t disgrace Long Xiang Si!”

Jiang Wang also finished his drink. “Lian brother’s painstaking creation, how could I dare to disappoint?” Recalling the days spent together in the sword furnace forging Long Xiang Si, which had indeed been arduous, the two men exchanged smiles.

“Speaking of which, you have now broken into the Inner Mansion and acquired a divine ability. You can also start to nurture Long Xiang Si.” Lian Que said, taking out a small booklet with a fiery red cover, placing it on the table and pushing it across.

“Nurture?” Jiang Wang glanced at it, seeing only the cover with writing that resembled crawling earthworms – “Famous Artifact Long Xiang Si Nurturing Method.”

“You wrote this yourself?” he asked.

Lian Que nodded. “I summarized some of the sword artifact nurturing methods from Lian clan history and specifically designed this for Long Xiang Si. It’s been prepared for some time. I had planned to give it to you along with Yan Xiao Zhi Hui. I didn’t expect you to come here first.”

This thoughtful gesture was indeed rare.

However, Jiang Wang wore an expression of disdain. “I just said this handwriting is so ugly, ordinary people couldn’t write something like this…”