Chapter 78: You Were Spying on the Wrong Person

The man in dark robes turned away from the restaurant, ready to leave.

He had seen enough for tonight. Yu Liang was clearly more cautious than he had expected, and there was still too much he didn’t know about the boy.

He took a step back.

Then Froze.

Someone was standing directly behind him. Close enough to touch.

Deathly warnings screamed within the man. He was at peak of Core Formation Realm, his spiritual sense would definitely sense anyone who got within fifty meters of his surroundings. However, this man had somehow closed in to that range without setting off an alarm.

He turned sharply, his hand going straight for his storage ring as spiritual energy circulated through his meridians.

A figure stood in the shadows, his features hidden by the darkness between the buildings. Only his smile was visible, wide and almost friendly.

Something about it immediately put the man on guard. Every instinct he had was telling him not to let his guard down.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice remained calm despite his heart beating frantically.

"Me?" The figure stepped forward into the pale moonlight. He was A middle aged man with graying hair and surprisingly ordinary features. Except for the eyes, those held something vicious and dangerous. "You’re spying on my boss, and somehow I’m the one answering questions?"

The tone was almost playful. That made it worse.

"I don’t know what you’re—"

The middle aged man attacked without letting him finish.

There was no warning. He hadn’t even sensed any spiritual energy before the attack came. One moment he was standing still, the next moment a fist was aimed at the man’s throat with terrifying precision.

He managed to block just in time, spiritual energy made his forearm turn to something like iron. He was flung back by three meters; marks from his feet were left on the rooftop as he slid back.

Core Formation Peak versus... what? The stranger hadn’t revealed his full cultivation, but the power behind that strike was enough to make the man rethink everything.

"Core Formation Early Stage?" the man went even more back, buying himself time as he studied his opponent. He quickly shook his head. "No... that doesn’t make sense. Peak Core Formation, then? You’re hiding your—"

The Old Man blurred forward again. This time the man was ready, meeting the attack with his own technique Shadowblade Strike, a killing move that had ended dozens of lives.

Their spiritual energies clashed mid air. The shockwave alone shattered roof tiles and cracked the building’s support beams.

The man’s confidence began to fade. His opponent wasn’t just powerful but also experienced.

There was no wasted movement in his attacks, and every strike came with just enough force to put the man on the defensive. Whatever his cultivation was, this wasn’t someone he could afford to underestimate. Wait... No spiritual power is being detected and the power behind those strikes...

"P-P-Peak of N-Nascent Soul," his breathing turned chaotic as horror filled his heart. "You’re—"

"Took you long enough." The old man’s smile widened. "Tch, tch and here I thought Core Formation cultivators were supposed to be perceptive."

He gave up his pride and reached for his emergency talisman.

Peak Nascent Soul.

The thought alone made his blood run cold. He had misjudged his opponent by a large margin and had been completely wrong from the beginning.

He couldn’t fight this person. No, forget about the fight he couldn’t even stall him.

His only chance was to escape, report what happened and pray that whoever came next would be strong enough to deal with him.

Before he could reach, the old man’s hand closed around his wrist with crushing force. "Leaving already? But we were just getting started."

Spiritual energy burst from the man’s body as he activated a desperate technique, burning through his blood essence to force out a brief surge of power.

He didn’t care about the cost anymore as he only needed enough strength to break free and create some distance so he can escape.

But the old man took the blast head on. His robes were torn apart, and patches of his skin were burned, he didn’t even take a step back.

"That’s more like it," he said cheerfully. "I was worried you’d be boring."

Seeing this he pushed his movement technique to its absolute limit, even burning his life essence to force himself faster.

The man in dark robes ran desperately wishing he should have been born as a beastman. At least then, his physical strength and natural speed might have given him a better chance of escaping.

He made it exactly two hundred meters in an instance.

When a second presence appeared in his path, dropping from the sky like a falling star. Another cultivator but this one was a woman with gray streaked hair and eyes like frozen ice.

It was none other than Yan Ruo.

"Going somewhere?" Her voice was almost casual, but the spiritual pressure surrounding her said differently. It pressed down on him with enough force to make his body tense.

Another Peak Nascent Soul.

The man tried to redirect, shift his momentum, anything to get out of the way but it was too late.

Yan Ruo’s palm struck his chest, breaking through his defensive formations like paper.

He crashed through two buildings before slamming into a courtyard wall hard.

Blood filled his mouth. Several ribs were broken, and the impact had disrupted his spiritual energy and damaged his meridians.

Before he could recover, the first cultivator, that same smiling old man appeared beside him.

"Now then," the man said pleasantly. "Let’s try this again. Who sent you?"

"Go to—"

Yan Ruo arrived a before he could speak. Her foot came down on his shoulder with a sharp crack. It wasn’t enough to cripple him permanently, but it was more than enough to make every nerve in his arm scream with pain.

"AAAARRRRRGH"

"My colleague asked you a question." Her tone was cold. "I suggest answering."