“Trying to run?”
Zhao Xueqing unleashed the Phoenix Dance of the Nine Heavens, her figure ethereal like that of an immortal. She darted left and right, appearing and disappearing at times, effortlessly dodging the many falling sedans. For the ones she couldn’t be bothered to avoid, she simply raised her finger and shot out a beam of light, shattering them with a single strike.
This scene stunned everyone.
One after another, cars rose into the air as if weightless, only to crash down with thunderous force, or explode midair like fireworks, scattering like celestial maidens casting flowers.
“Whoa, this is absolutely mind-blowing!”
“Cars are flying!”
“Superman? Spider-Man? Wonder Woman?”
The onlookers in the distance were completely dumbfounded, each pulling out their phones to capture this jaw-dropping spectacle.
By now, Sidewinder had already reached the gentle slope beneath the highway, seemingly intent on hijacking a passing vehicle to escape.
She was fast enough—while throwing cars, she ran like lightning—but she was still a step too late.
Qing’er was already standing on one side of the highway, looking down at her from above: “You can’t escape!”
“Let me go!”
Sidewinder’s face was full of dread, and she pleaded somewhat desperately: “I promise, I’ll never set foot in China again, and I’ll absolutely never take any mission involving Mr. Jiang!”
“No. Anyone who wants to hurt my husband must die!” Qing’er’s pretty face was coated with frost, her killing intent radiating.
“You’re forcing my hand!”
Sidewinder’s expression shifted repeatedly, her teeth grinding audibly. Suddenly, she let out a sharp cry: “Venomous Serpent Breath Art!”
Her hands formed eerie seals, her crimson lips quivering rapidly as she recited an obscure and incomprehensible ancient incantation.
This ancient chant sometimes sounded like a demon’s whisper, sometimes like a rattlesnake shaking its tail in a dry rustle, and other times like a giant python hissing and flicking its forked tongue—it carried a mesmerizing, soul-shaking power.
In an instant, her eyes turned into an eerie golden yellow, her black pupils sharply contracting into cold, sharp points like needles.
Her once fair and delicate skin quickly became covered in patches of golden scales, shimmering and flickering with strange lights as they curled and rippled, making her look as though she was clad in a suit of exquisite golden armor.
At the same time, a massive golden rattlesnake phantom appeared behind her, then suddenly contracted into her body. Her form twisted in pain as black mist burst from her chest and condensed, vaguely forming a snake head the size of a millstone. It opened its gaping maw, fangs bared and fierce, and charged violently toward Qing’er.
The snake head was solid and heavy, almost tangible, ferocious beyond measure, and wrapped in a dense murderous aura—as if it could tear a tiger apart or bite through steel pillars.
“Oh? This must be the snake venom tempering technique my husband mentioned! How fascinating!”
A flicker of excitement passed through Zhao Xueqing’s eyes, a hint of understanding dawning on her.
In some ancient shamanic sects, cultivators lived alongside venomous snakes, using their venom to temper their bodies and practicing serpentine martial arts to generate offensive power.
However, Sidewinder’s secret art seemed incomplete—far inferior to the body-tempering techniques her husband had described. Her body couldn’t fully transform into a snake, and she could only harm others with toxic energy.
This was Zhao Xueqing’s first foray into the world of cultivation, and she was curious about all sorts of strange training methods. She observed and pondered each one carefully—but that didn’t mean she would let her guard down or show mercy to Sidewinder.
Once she understood, she immediately activated her technique, and the aura of her Untainted Phoenix Maiden Divine Body surged explosively, as if soaring straight into the heavens.
“Die!”
Then came a crisp cry like a phoenix’s song. She raised her hand and swung, and a divine phoenix energy blade slashed out directly.
With a whoosh, the energy blade stretched seven or eight meters long, a translucent golden light sweeping out like molten mercury pouring across the ground, easily cleaving the snake head in two.
Sidewinder, hiding behind it, had no time to react before she was sliced in half at the waist.
Her eyes remained wide open, still filled with shock and terror, as if she couldn’t believe she had fallen just like that.
A generation of assassin queens, Sidewinder—the ace killer of the Butterfly Tombstone organization—had been effortlessly slain by Qing’er with a single strike.
“Honey, I won!”
Qing’er withdrew the overwhelming aura of her Untainted Phoenix Maiden Divine Body, flashed a sweet smile, and bounced over to Jiang Tian.
…
“Jiang Taichu… what is that?”
While Qing’er was chasing down and intercepting Sidewinder and her crew, the female police officer looked at Jiang Tian and asked with a frown.
“You really don’t know how to talk…”
Jiang Tian couldn’t be bothered with her. He shot her a glance and said disdainfully, “Anyway, don’t even think about trying to arrest me. My level is something you simply can’t even begin to imagine.”
“Damn it…”
Officer Lin Menghan was absolutely losing her mind, on the verge of tears.
Here she was, not even thirty, serving as the captain of the Jiangsu Provincial Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit—a bona fide division-level official. She was pretty, skilled in combat, and carried a rare heroic spirit that most ordinary girls lacked, giving her a unique charm.
In Jinling, and even across Jiangsu Province, countless outstanding young men would lose their heads over her at first sight, desperately trying to win her favor. But in front of Jiang Tian, why did she feel like… an ant?
Yet when she witnessed Zhao Xueqing’s near-miraculous abilities—
Lin Menghan was utterly floored, dazzled and disoriented. What she had seen today was simply the most incredible thing in her entire life.
Dodging bullets with her bare body, condensing energy into weapons, killing as easily as chopping vegetables—and sending a car flying with a flick of her finger.
“Her… how is she so powerful? Is she a martial artist?”
“No, no, no—she must be a legendary martial arts grandmaster!” Lin Menghan muttered to herself, utterly lost.
This proud and confident woman, after witnessing Qing’er’s overwhelming strength, felt her entire worldview collapse.
Her self-confidence shattered, scattered all over the ground, beyond recovery.
…
“Honey, how did I do?”
Zhao Xueqing came trotting over, clutching Jiang Tian’s arm like a little girl who had just scored a perfect hundred and was waiting for praise from her teacher.
“Mm, not bad! You did great!”
Jiang Tian smiled and said, “But sometimes you talk too much. Remember, say less and strike directly. Villains die from running their mouths, but heroes can miss their chance because of it too.”
Lin Menghan had originally held Zhao Xueqing in deep reverence, but when she looked at her fallen comrades lying dead all over the ground, a surge of anger welled up inside her.
She gesticulated wildly and scolded, “Miss Zhao, if you had such power, why didn’t you act sooner? If you had, our comrades wouldn’t have died!”
“Well… at the time…”
Zhao Xueqing was momentarily stunned and at a loss for words. She was so startled by the accusation that her delicate body trembled slightly, her eyes reddening, almost on the verge of tears.
Back then, she was solely focused on protecting Jiang Tian and hadn’t considered that these police officers would be so useless—dispatched by the killers in no time at all.
“Old hag, how dare you talk to my wife like that? Do you want to die?” Jiang Tian was instantly displeased, his brow furrowing as he spoke coldly.
“You—you dare call me an old hag? You dare threaten me!”
Lin Menghan, always proud, was livid upon hearing this. Her chest heaved violently with rage, her teeth chattering.
“What the hell do you think you are? A brainless idiot—do you even deserve a threat from me?”
Jiang Tian let out a cold laugh and said, “What does the life or death of your comrades have to do with us? Weren’t you trying to arrest us? Do you really think you have the ability to catch me? Hilarious!”
“Get lost!”
With a low growl, he unleashed an immense pressure that shoved Lin Menghan stumbling backward several steps. He took Zhao Xueqing’s hand, got into the Rolls-Royce Phantom, and drove off without a backward glance.
Lin Menghan stood there dumbfounded, her fury still burning, utterly speechless.
…
At 11 PM, in the bustling downtown of Jinling.
The traffic light turned red, and the understated, low-key Audi A8 came to a stop. This luxury ride, worth over two million, carried an air of distinction. Its wheelbase, over three meters long, made it nearly forty centimeters longer than the various economy cars around it—a length that would make any car enthusiast drool with envy.
Fortunately, the A8 followed a modest business styling, so its appearance didn’t draw too much attention.
That was precisely why Zhang Wanqing chose to ride this Audi to work instead of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Even so, the eyes of many passersby still lingered on the Audi A8’s body, drawn to its presence.
“Miss Shen, thank you for your hard work!” Zhang Wanqing said with a smile.
She knew Shen Mange’s background—a member of the Yanjing Shen family and an outstanding disciple of the Shennong Sect. Yet, following her son’s wishes, she dutifully served as both her driver and bodyguard. It made the kind-hearted Zhang Wanqing feel a bit awkward.
“Chairman Zhang, you’re too kind!”
At the moment the green light lit up, Shen Mange turned her head and smiled sweetly—and then the rear window of the A8 exploded on its own.
Suddenly, shards of glass scattered all over the ground.
This eerie, sudden occurrence stunned quite a few passersby.
With the window film gone, the rear seat of the A8 exposed Zhang Wanqing’s upper body almost entirely to public view—and equally, to those who were watching deliberately.
About two hundred meters away, past the gap between two high-rise buildings on the roadside, atop a six-story building, a cold-hearted man who had been lying in wait for some time shook his shoulder-length hair parted at 70/30. With an expressionless face, he calmly and unhurriedly pushed the second bullet in his magazine into the chamber.
His movements were slow, deliberate, neither hurried nor heated—yet they carried a chilling, overwhelming killing intent.
The long, metallic body of the rifle showcased the refinement and precision of European military craftsmanship. This Swiss SSG3000 sniper rifle—hailed as the world’s most accurate single-shot firearm—looked more like a collectible piece of art than China’s domestic Type 88.
But it was no mere decorative ornament. In the hands of an elite sniper, it was a true instrument of death.
The cold man aimed again, pulling the trigger without a moment’s hesitation. Killing the target was simply his job—he was as calm as if he felt no pressure or unease whatsoever.
Pfft!
The silencer muffled the gunshot to an extremely faint sound, blending seamlessly into the city’s din, almost imperceptible.
In a region with strict gun control, someone was using such a weapon to take down a target over three hundred meters away—it was nothing short of earth-shattering.
Precisely because of this, when the Audi A8’s window shattered, most onlookers were merely bewildered. But one person sensed the imminent danger—Shen Mange, seated in the driver’s seat, whose job was to protect her charge.
At the very instant of the first glass explosion, Shen Mange shouted, “Chairman Zhang, get down!” while simultaneously, ignoring the long line of cars waiting at the red light, she engaged the electronic parking brake and slammed the accelerator.
The car lunged forward like a mad beast, rear-ending the Volkswagen Passat ahead, triggering a chain collision of over a dozen cars in the left-turn lane. The deafening crunch of crumpling metal filled the air. Then Shen Mange wrenched the steering wheel hard to the right, scraping against several vehicles and forcefully squeezing into the underground parking lot of a chain supermarket.
But no matter how fast Shen Mange reacted, she couldn’t outrun a bullet. A pained groan still echoed from the A8’s rear seat.
On the rooftop of the six-story building, mostly hidden by the two high-rises, the cold-hearted sniper Ruan Kun curled his lip and sneered, “FUCK!”
