Chapter 46 The Inn

A brilliant radiance suddenly surged into Mu Qingnan's eyes, and a formidable aura of battle instantly descended upon the scene. Formations of soldier spirits condensed into existence, one of which merged into his body, wrapping around him as a protective barrier.

The dozens of assailants rushing forward felt a shock in their eyes, and a single thought flashed through their minds: "This is... 'Calling the Roll on the Battlefield'."

As martial artists, they were naturally familiar with renowned top-tier martial arts techniques. Although this territory did not belong to Mu Wenfeng, it was not far away, and they had certainly heard of the formidable reputation of Calling the Roll on the Battlefield.

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect this person to be Mu Qingnan, the son of Mu Wenfeng. A wave of regret washed over them; if they were to kill Mu Qingnan, they probably wouldn't live long afterwards.

Yet now, with the arrow nocked on the bowstring, they had no choice but to fire. Besides, they were wearing masks, so presumably the other party wouldn't know who they were.

With that thought, each of them unleashed their ultimate techniques and charged at Mu Qingnan.

A top-tier martial art like Calling the Roll on the Battlefield was certainly not a hollow name.

The soldier spirits charged forward to meet them, while the one that had evolved into a centurion drew the weapon at its waist and clashed with the enemy.

Mu Qingnan, who had himself transformed into the embodiment of a centurion, also drew the curved saber from his waist and slashed toward the incoming opponent.

As the two forces collided, the centurion's immense strength caused the adversary's arm to go numb.

Before the man could react, Mu Qingnan closed the distance, his curved saber sweeping toward him once more.

The opponent could only offer a clumsy defense, continuously beaten backward by Mu Qingnan.

Meanwhile, the others fighting the soldier spirits were in an equally miserable plight.

They possessed physical, mortal bodies, whereas the soldier spirits were spiritual entities.

Any attacks landing on the spirits merely left faint traces, and the soldier spirits completely ignored incoming blows, engaging their foes in a fierce, reckless war of attrition.

A soldier spirit only suffered minor fraying, which at most consumed a negligible amount of Mu Qingnan's internal energy.

For the mortal combatants, however, the situation was dire. Every strike from the spirits landed heavily upon them, inflicting wounds, and several had already been slashed by the centurion.

One side showed absolute disregard for incoming damage, while the other lived in constant terror of being struck.

Which side was stronger and which was weaker went without saying.

Before long, the first opponent was blasted to the ground by a soldier spirit. At the same time, Mu Qingnan forcefully overwhelmed his own adversary, pinning the man down as he rested the edge of his curved saber against the enemy's neck.

Such was the tyrannical might of Calling the Roll on the Battlefield.

Seeing that the battle had concluded, Yu Qi walked over to where they stood.

He placed his sword horizontally against the neck of one of the captives, his cold gaze fixed upon the man. "Speak, who sent you?"

The captive simply stared at Yu Qi in silence.

Slash!

A streak of blood flashed as Yu Qi ended the man's life with a single stroke of his sword. A faint wispy thread of internal energy surged into the demonic seed resting upon his back.

He walked over to the next captive. Seeing that the man still refused to speak, he ended him with another decisive sword strike.

Finally, only the man defeated by Mu Qingnan remained.

Having killed so many people in rapid succession, Yu Qi's eyes burned with an intense, bloodthirsty intent.

The captive looked at Yu Qi's resolute and ruthless demeanor, especially his expressionless face after slaughtering so many lives, and felt a creeping terror grip his heart. Even he, someone who had taken lives before, could never remain as calm as Yu Qi.

Yu Qi walked up to him, leveled his sword, and asked the same question.

Cold beads of sweat rolled down the man's masked face. Staring at the razor-sharp blade just inches away, a desperate instinct for survival surged within him. "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

The captive hurriedly blurted out the identity of the mastermind.

It turned out that back on that night, the conversation between Mu Qingnan—after he produced the silver banknotes—and Yu Qi had been overheard by an inn waiter passing by.

The sight of so much silver stirred up the waiter's greed, and he reported it to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper was cut from the same cloth. For ordinary travelers, his establishment functioned as a standard lodging, but for wealthy and youthful patrons, the inn turned into a butcher shop.

And that was precisely why they had orchestrated the ambush against Yu Qi.

Having obtained the necessary information, Yu Qi returned the Frost blade to its scabbard on his back and turned to Mu Qingnan. "Qingnan, finish him."

Hearing Yu Qi's words, the masked man cried out in panic, "You go back on your word! I've already told you what you wanted to know!"

A wicked smile played at the corner of Yu Qi's lips. "I never said I was going to spare you. Qingnan, kill him."

Mu Qingnan stood frozen in place, a pang of reluctance flickering in his heart. "Big Brother, I can't bring myself to do it."

Yu Qi fixed his gaze on Mu Qingnan and said, "Remember what Uncle Su told us: showing mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself. Since this man wanted to take your life, yet you refuse to kill him, that isn't kindness—that's foolishness."

Recalling the words once spoken by Su Dongli, Mu Qingnan slammed his eyes shut. Then, amidst the black-clad man's terrified gaze, he swung his curved saber in a clean arc, ending the man's life.

When it was all over, a fine layer of cold sweat beaded on Mu Qingnan's forehead, and his face turned notably pale.

Just a moment ago, it had been a living, breathing life, yet now it had been snuffed out by a single blade stroke from his own hands.

Although he had witnessed others kill, that was ultimately other people's doing. Now that his own hands were stained, for some reason, a wave of intense tension gripped his heart.

A dizzying spell swept through his mind, accompanied by a sudden urge to vomit.

Yu Qi walked over and patted his shoulder. "Qingnan, it's always like this the first time. And this won't be the last time either. As we travel across the world, we will inevitably encounter enemies. If you don't kill them, they will kill you."

The reason Yu Qi made Mu Qingnan do it himself was precisely to temper him. He knew that Mu Qingnan had always been somewhat soft-hearted and had never taken a life before.

That was a dangerous flaw for someone on this path. After all, this was a world governed by the law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak; he needed to grow stronger, and killing was merely the first step on the road to power.

Mu Qingnan took a deep breath. Of course he understood the logic behind Yu Qi's words, but accepting it emotionally took time.

Turning around, he said, "Big Brother, I'm fine."

Yu Qi nodded, knowing that Mu Qingnan needed time to adjust.

The two did not leave the area immediately; instead, they quietly slipped back into the town.

They intended to eliminate the black-hearted innkeeper to prevent any other innocent travelers from falling victim to him.

By nightfall, the entire small town was draped in a pitch-black curtain of night.

Yu Qi and Mu Qingnan slowly made their way back to the inn.

Finding no movement inside, they vaulted over the wall into the inn's backyard.

However, with guest rooms lining every corner of the establishment, they had no idea where the wicked innkeeper resided and could only wander aimlessly without a clue.

Suddenly, down a corridor ahead, a flickering lamplight cast a few human shadows against the wall.

Yu Qi instantly grabbed Mu Qingnan and pulled him into an unoccupied guest room to hide.