Chapter 141: Crushing

Thwack!

A sharp steel sword instantly pierced Xi Renjie's shoulder, blood soaking his clothes. But at that moment, he ignored the pain, staring at Chen Ling in shock instead. "It's you?! You're the person in red?!" Xi Renjie was all too familiar with this bizarre trick. Back at the warehouse entrance, the person in red had used this very skill to manipulate all of them. "You're from the Twilight Society?!" In a flash, Xi Renjie connected all the dots. When the person in red appeared, Chen Ling had conveniently claimed to be tired and rested. Then came leading away all the shadow centipedes, devouring the calamity, entering the Grey Realm, and bringing Han Meng back... Although Chen Ling's appearance now didn't match that of the person in red, combining those details, Chen Ling's identity was practically confirmed.

"It seems Aurora City really didn't tell you the details," Chen Ling said calmly. He delivered a powerful whip kick to Xi Renjie's chest, sending him flying backward dozens of feet through the air before he crashed into the surface of the broken carriage, leaving a deep indentation.

Xi Renjie had covered half his body with an iron suit, but his internal organs were still injured. He violently coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, and his vision blurred. The injury to one shoulder effectively incapacitated one of his arms. His other hand held the control rod, which had no blade to speak of, and its razor-sharp wires couldn't be activated, so he could only discard it in the snow.

Xi Renjie watched the figure rapidly approaching, steel sword in hand. He swiped his fingers into a hidden compartment at his waist, and four or five blades dropped into the gaps between his fingers. "'String Dance.'" With one hand gripping the blades, his nimble fingers made them spin rapidly. Then, dark, thin threads shot out from his fingertips, like imperceptible slender snakes tracking Chen Ling through the snow. These black threads were extremely fine, nearly indistinguishable against the night-darkened snow. A sharp killing intent was hidden in the invisible blind spots, already surrounding Chen Ling.

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint glow appeared deep within them. The terrifying observational ability granted by his Secret Eye allowed him to clearly discern the black threads. His figure flitted among them like a dancing butterfly. The threads brushed past his cheek, but not a single one managed to harm him in the slightest.

"...How is this possible?" Xi Renjie muttered in disbelief, controlling the black threads while watching the rapidly approaching figure.

"The skills of the Sirius Path are indeed fierce," Chen Ling said calmly, pulling a few copper coins from his pocket. "Unfortunately, you've met the wrong opponent."

Clink! He flicked his finger, and the copper coins in his hand flew into the air. The next moment, those coins transformed into glistening blades. Xi Renjie's pupils contracted. He immediately looked down and discovered that the blades at his fingertips had been replaced by smooth, round copper coins... Without sharp edges, his skill was useless. The black threads, capable of cutting through anything, instantly vanished. The moment he looked up, the gleaming steel sword streaked through the air like a meteor. Its terrifying force pushed his body backward, pinning him firmly to the carriage!

A gust of wind swept across Xi Renjie's face, and Chen Ling's calm face reappeared. Xi Renjie stared wide-eyed at Chen Ling, but he no longer had the ability to retaliate. His face couldn't hide his despair. He hadn't expected the power gap between him and Chen Ling to be so immense... His opponent had only used two tricks to neutralize his strongest killing move. In a mere few tens of seconds, the outcome of the battle between the two Zone 3 law enforcers was decided.

Chen Ling stopped in front of him and slowly spoke: "Officer Xi, what exactly did Aurora City tell you in the message you received?" After Xi Renjie had knocked him out, he had uttered the word 'heretic.' Chen Ling knew he had been exposed, but how exactly he was exposed had always been a puzzle to him. He felt that everything he had done so far had been almost flawless.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Xi Renjie's shoulder blade was pinned to the train's metal siding by the steel sword. His features contorted with excruciating pain. After taking a few deep breaths, he spoke hoarsely, "I don't know... They didn't say anything... They just told me you were a heretic and that I had to eliminate you by any means necessary..."

Chen Ling's brow furrowed slightly. He instinctively felt that something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.

As he pondered, Xi Renjie's voice sounded again. "Chen Ling, I don't understand..." Xi Renjie lifted his pale face, looking into Chen Ling's eyes. "You're from the Twilight Society, so why did you infiltrate Zone 3? And why did you save me and Brother Meng? What exactly is your purpose?"

Chen Ling didn't reply. He simply pushed the steel sword deeper into the metal plating, then slowly released the hilt. "You don't need to know... For now, just stay here and watch how I kill." The next moment, his figure vanished into the darkness.

During the time Chen Ling was overpowering Xi Renjie, over a dozen law enforcers had already scattered in all directions, their figures disappearing into the dimness and thick fog. But for Chen Ling, a few hundred meters was nothing. A blood-red shadow swept across the ground with astonishing speed, like a predator in the night. Wherever he went, the fleeing figures collapsed to the ground like sacks of mud.

Meanwhile.

Three figures were desperately fleeing along the railway tracks. Zuo Tong looked back. Chen Ling was mostly out of sight in the thick fog. Perhaps he had gone in the opposite direction to pursue other law enforcers. He finally let out a small sigh of relief. "We should... we should be safe now, right?" He slowly stopped on the tracks, his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"If you don't want to die, keep running!" Brother Jing cursed in a low voice. "Chen Ling is a law enforcer of the Asura Path! With his speed, catching up to us is like child's play. Didn't you see Xi Renjie pinned to the train?"

"But how is that possible... Chen Ling is just a newcomer who just stepped onto the divine path. How could he defeat Officer Xi?" another law enforcer asked, puzzled.

"Who knows?! Even if the Asura Path is strong, it shouldn't be *this* strong, should it?"

"Yeah, I didn't see Officer Xi put up much of a fight..."

"Xi Renjie is useless! And he's supposed to be a second-tier law enforcer! He's good for nothing but scaring us!"

"Now the train is broken in two... How are we supposed to get to Aurora City?"

"Let's just save our lives first!"