“Even if its target is you, I’m confident I can stop it halfway.” After walking out of the unit entrance, Han Jie looked toward an open space in the distance that was relatively suitable as a battlefield, and said with some dissatisfaction, “There was no need for you to come. You’re only making people worry for nothing.”
Meng Qingtong held onto his arm, hooked up the heel of the shoe she had not had time to put on properly, and said with a cheerful smile, “It’s not that I don’t trust your strength, but… I just boasted to you that if there’s anything that requires going into battle, I’ll handle it. I can’t very well swallow those words back before even half a day has passed, can I? Besides, I really can fight. With me helping, the food won’t get cold as easily.”
Han Jie glanced at her and said with a half-smile, “That ghostly thing arrives the moment it says it will. Will you have time to use a spiritual array? Using talismans is the same as burning money. There’s no client this time—who are you planning to ask for reimbursement?”
“Am I that stingy?” Her eyes widened, looking very unconvinced. “Exorcising demons and upholding the Way, protecting everyone’s safety—so what if it costs a little money? Since I chose talismans and arrays, I was mentally prepared for that.”
Then she gave a sly little smile and said in a low voice, “But it’d be best if we fight within surveillance range. Don’t lure it somewhere too remote. That way, when I submit a report afterward, the Ling’an Bureau can reimburse the expenses—including the ones from the mountains earlier.”
Han Jie could not help laughing. He thought that this was probably the real reason she had so eagerly followed him over. Judging from her attitude, she had no intention of asking Sister Lin to reimburse any expenses; it was entirely possible she had not even charged much for the commission.
After calling up the concept of surveillance from his sea of consciousness and sorting through the related peripheral information, he did become somewhat worried about something else, and inwardly rejoiced that Meng Qingtong had followed him in time.
This world had already fully adapted to the state of thin spiritual energy. The spiritual arts it had developed had practically refined frugality to the extreme. Most spiritualists’ own spiritual power growth and divine sense talent were insufficient to support more than two systems, so specializing in one of the six major systems, or one primary with one auxiliary, had become the inevitable choice.
Moreover, the more advanced and efficient spiritual arts system had completely replaced the sect manuals of the past. The Nine Great Cauldron Districts taught students according to their aptitude and in a systematic manner, so there were no longer any thresholds beyond individual talent.
Thus, an old monster like Han Jie, who possessed the special secret art known as the Heart Sword Aspect and had enough spiritual power and divine sense to use all six systems of spiritual arts, would without a doubt stand out like a firefly in the night if he appeared before the public.
What he hated most was trouble.
His mastery of theoretical knowledge in all six systems was relatively easy to explain, and not much of a problem. Therefore, keeping his identity secret mainly came down to which system he should choose to use.
Spiritual talismans and spiritual arrays were the primary and auxiliary systems Meng Qingtong had chosen. He had little interest in them.
As for the spiritual envoy and spiritual body systems, the former raised spiritual-energy pets, while the latter tempered the body and refined oneself. Both were far removed from his former methods, and not very suitable.
Spiritual techniques were the closest to the spiritual arts system he had used in the past, and he was most familiar with their inner principles. However, in this world, due to their difficulty, they had higher talent requirements. In addition, because of the group effect of geniuses gathering together, those who specialized in spiritual techniques generally would not choose to cultivate an auxiliary system.
As for spiritual artifacts, they involved attaching spiritual power to external objects and, after long-term nurturing, achieving a connection with one’s soul. It was similar to the faction among cultivators in his previous life who nurtured their natal weapons. The aesthetic trends of this era were fairly uniform. Among spiritual artifact cultivators in the Nine Cauldron Region, roughly over eighty percent played with swords. At critical moments, it was quite suitable as an excuse to conceal his Heart Sword Aspect.
As for the three taboo systems outside the six major systems—spiritual gu, which manipulated poisonous insects; spiritual consciousness, which distorted people’s minds; and spiritual ghosts, which tampered with souls—any rule-abiding spiritualist would not touch them, let alone an old-fashioned man carrying secrets like him.
After a brief calculation, Han Jie found that the abnormality in his sea of consciousness counted as a passive limitation, while the requirements of the external environment counted as an active limitation. Combined, the two truly left him somewhat constrained.
Fortunately, in his impression, that two-headed flying leopard whose true name was Jingbei was not some extraordinary evil fiend. After a rough estimate, even if he could only use Class C spiritual techniques, eliminating that thing should not force him to bring out his Heart Sword Aspect.
But if he did have to use it, he had to make sure no one could find a flaw.
While his thoughts were turning, Meng Qingtong had already swiftly reported the situation. The entire Ling’an system reacted extremely quickly. Evacuation information was not only pushed to all nearby residents, but the anti-demon alarm in the area had already begun blaring loudly.
The piercing siren maintained a rhythm of three long blasts and one short. Residents in all the nearby buildings put down what they were doing one after another and withdrew in an orderly fashion through the buildings’ internal emergency passages into the underground protective facilities.
After rapidly running through the small regulation called the Resident Safety Evacuation Ordinance in his mind, Han Jie suddenly realized a problem.
Was the two-headed flying leopard that strong?
According to the strength in his memory, using the lowest-level yellow warning of two long blasts and one short, requiring nearby residents to find the nearest building for shelter and forbidding them from going out or approaching the combat area before it ended, should have been enough, right?
Wait… Only then did he notice that, accustomed to acting alone, he had overlooked something.
Meng Qingtong’s strength was not worth mentioning in his eyes, but in this generally weak world, she did indeed qualify as an unprecedented genius girl. If he did not bring out his Heart Sword Aspect, whether his efficiency in dealing with evil fiends was higher than hers was still unknown.
Then an opponent that Meng Qingtong could not handle easily…
“Qingtong,” he asked with a frown, “just how strong is Jingbei?”
“How do you want me to put it…” Meng Qingtong set her backpack by her feet. While hurrying to set up a spiritual array that did not take much time as a contingency, she thought and answered, “In any case, this one is pretty troublesome. It appeared as soon as I accepted Sister Lin’s commission, and I tried several times but couldn’t get rid of it completely. But after estimating, it should be considered relatively weak among its kind. The list order in the Complete Codex of Evil Fiends is arranged simply and crudely by danger level. The Kinslayer is written on page thirteen. That means the only ones more dangerous than it are the dozens of types on the first twelve pages. Of course, danger level doesn’t completely equal strength.”
She clapped her hands, sensed the dense aura charging straight toward them without the slightest attempt at concealment, and looked in the direction where the enemy was about to appear. Pulling out several spiritual talismans, she said softly, “After obtaining its true name, I can more or less guess why this one is comparatively weak.”
The distance had already closed to the point where Han Jie could directly sense it with his divine sense. Puzzled, he said, “But even this one is far stronger than the ones I once remember. Evil fiends shouldn’t have any means of cultivating and improving. Why… has it progressed so much?”
Meng Qingtong took two steps forward, her back to him, and said, “What a coincidence. The reason this one is comparatively weak just happens to explain why Jingbei is stronger than it was in your era. After we finish fighting, I’ll analyze it properly for you.”
Han Jie frowned and said, “Before battle begins, don’t make promises recklessly.”
She looked back and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Your era already had the concept of not raising flags carelessly? Pretty advanced.”
Then she smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, I’m very afraid of dying. If it were something I couldn’t handle, I would’ve called for backup long ago. This Jingbei’s strength is just right to give me a chance to prove that I really can fight.”
Han Jie shook his head and was about to follow her, but saw her wave her hand forcefully and say very seriously, “Only step in if I really can’t do it. If you want to protect your secret, you can’t just make a move in a public setting like this. That sword you took out before was ridiculously powerful. It’s not something you can bluff your way through with a lousy excuse like being a top student of the spiritual artifact system.”
Before Han Jie could say anything else, the Jingbei flying over in a straight line had already appeared in sight.
Two heads, a scorpion tail, and a pair of fully extended fleshy wings. The shadow of the evil fiend, gliding and diving at high speed, rapidly enlarged in their vision. Compared with the appearance in his memory, it had barely changed at all. But in this world of thin spiritual energy, its body, condensed from spiritual power, was instead much sturdier and larger.
It was still like this under the suppression of the nine Demon-Suppressing Cauldrons. Then if the Nine Cauldrons were gone, would the evil fiends of this world not turn everything upside down?
Before he could think through the strangeness of it, Han Jie suddenly discovered that the Jingbei’s target was not Meng Qingtong, who had lured it here.
Or rather, after flying here, it had suddenly sensed something and made a subtle turn. Its new destination had become the residential compound they had just left.
Meng Qingtong reacted extremely quickly. Without the slightest hesitation, she slapped her lower abdomen and temporarily undid several layers of that self-sealing spiritual array.
Jingbei beat its wings and executed an extremely difficult sudden stop in midair. Its two huge leopard heads slowly turned over, and its hollow, lifeless eyes locked onto Meng Qingtong’s body from afar.
Unexpectedly, it actually seemed somewhat unable to decide. It hung in the air, flapping its wings, and stopped moving.
Meng Qingtong gritted her teeth and unlocked several more layers of the spiritual array.
“If you keep releasing your aura like this, every evil fiend within a hundred li is going to stir.” Han Jie raised his hand and formed a hand seal.
Meng Qingtong grabbed his hand and pressed it down. “I know what I’m doing. Look, it’s coming!”
The massive body wheeled once in the air, then dove toward them again.
The four ferocious leopard eyes suddenly widened. With Jingbei’s body as the center, a transparent sphere rapidly expanded outward like ripples in space, spreading to several hundred meters away in an instant.
“Spiritual pressure domain…” Han Jie became even more astonished. This kind of semi-sealed space, which could greatly weaken the effectiveness of spiritual art attacks within its range, was something the two-headed flying leopards of the past absolutely could not use.
With the strength of its body and its method of attack, while the spiritual pressure domain was in effect, its hard power had essentially risen by more than just a small margin.
Therefore, he was already prepared to make a move.
Keeping his secret was merely a way for him to reduce trouble in passing. It would not make him stand by and watch while someone else faced mortal danger.
But Meng Qingtong had already charged out.
Her slender body tensed, curled, and folded, then abruptly released astonishing power. Like a loosed bowstring, she shot head-on toward the charging monster.
Even cultivators of the spiritual body system would be unwilling to contest strength head-on with such a monster, right?
Unwilling to wait until it was too late to act in rescue, Han Jie’s lowered right hand swayed slightly. Bright red petals drifted down from his chest, whirling and condensing into a sharp short sword only one foot and seven inches long.
The blade was bright red from end to end, as if burning. The hilt was adorned with a small, dazzling crimson lotus, and as it drifted, it seemed as though fiery petals were flying one after another.
This was his Heart Sword—Scarlet Wrath. Holding this sword, he would no longer be affected by any seal or weakening effect. Moreover, his speed would be faster than usual—much, much faster.
Unexpectedly, Meng Qingtong was not slow either.
Moreover, she had never intended to match strength with the monster in the first place.
“Copper Wall, Iron Bastion! Flowing Light, Shifting Form and Changing Shadow—open!”
The spiritual talisman flashed and vanished.
The Jingbei, which had already pounced down ferociously, slammed headfirst into the ground, sending shattered chunks of concrete flying. If a body without spiritual protection took that hit head-on, it would probably be torn apart on the spot.
This was clearly a combo routine Meng Qingtong had long since mastered. The moment her figure exchanged places with the spiritual talisman left in her original position, she raised her head and shouted, “Rise!”
Han Jie’s eyes widened slightly. At last, he personally witnessed the spiritual array that had once broken open the mountain stone of his cave residence.
The Flowing Light Talisman had swapped the Shifting Form and Changing Shadow Talisman together with the Copper Wall, Iron Bastion Array to Meng Qingtong’s position. Immediately afterward, they shot up from beneath Jingbei.
She had adjusted the transparent defensive wall into a thin and sharp form. Although the hastily drawn spiritual array could not unleash its maximum power in such an urgent situation, defensive spiritual arts were not affected by the spiritual pressure domain. It was clear that before the battle began, this girl had already had everything planned out.
The enormous shield of spiritual power slashed viciously into the side of Jingbei’s chest and abdomen!
The two-headed flying leopard let out a low, muffled roar. As it was driven into midair, it rolled, shedding most of the impact. But one of its wings was still struck and broken in the middle, drooping limply and unable to move again.
Although evil fiends had limited perception of pain, this blow still enraged it completely. Its two leopard heads rose, and its bloody maws erupted with piercing roars. Its foreclaws, which did not look particularly strong, suddenly swept out, actually lifting a large expanse of bricks and stones and sending them over like a tempest.
Unfortunately, the Copper Wall, Iron Bastion Array was meant to defend against physical attacks. The huge light shield trembled slightly and easily blocked the blow.
By this time, Meng Qingtong had already sprinted to the side of Jingbei’s broken wing. The spiritual talisman pinched between her fingers overflowed with light, clearly on the verge of activation.
“Roooaaar—!” Jingbei twisted its body and lunged. Its twin claws abruptly extended several inches, and the sound of air being torn apart was hardly inferior to the howl from its mouth.
Han Jie felt slightly relieved. Although this evil fiend was somewhat stronger, when it came to fighting, it was still the same as ever, not much better than a real wild beast. With Meng Qingtong’s mind, even if she could not win for a while, she would not suffer any major loss.
Sure enough, Meng Qingtong leaped into the air, skimming past Jingbei’s claw strike as she darted obliquely out. With a backward press of her hand, the spiritual talisman stuck precisely to the wing root behind the monster’s shoulder.
Spiritual light burst forth and rose, wrapping around it like a bolt of silk. In an instant, several loops were bound around Jingbei’s body.
It was the Dragon-Locking Talisman.
Starting with a Jia-upper divine talisman, Shifting Form and Changing Shadow, to set up the opening move, then using a Yi-upper great talisman to forcibly control it from the injured side—she was making use of her strengths and avoiding her weaknesses within the spiritual pressure domain with ease. Her combat experience was so rich that she did not seem like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl at all.
At this moment, she still had two spiritual talismans left in her hand. Not far away, a simple Ding-middle minor array—the Earthfire Array—lay in ambush.
As long as the plan went smoothly, she would be able to injure Jingbei to the point where it no longer wished to fight in at most two more exchanges.
The resources she had brought for this job were limited. Compared to exterminating it, driving it back was the more realistic goal.
If she failed to kill it, though, the reimbursement process over at the Ling’an Bureau would probably involve no small amount of wrangling.
Jingbei rolled and struggled with all its might within the Dragon-Locking Talisman, smashing the road surface until it cracked and sending broken stones flying.
She took a deep breath and bent her knees slightly, like a vigorous female leopard preparing to strike.
But at that moment, Jingbei’s massive body suddenly went rigid and stopped all movement.
Meng Qingtong’s dynamic vision was extremely outstanding, yet she only saw a thin line of red light flash and vanish.
Her vision blurred. Han Jie was already standing beside her, and he said softly with slight dissatisfaction, “Let’s go back. The food is about to get cold.”
Falling along with his gentle words were Jingbei’s two ferocious leopard heads…