“What a pity!”

Su Changkong inwardly lamented the loss of the opportunity. His feigned surrender was a preparation for a surprise attack, with the intent to kill one first. However, this cloaked elder as a messenger of the Life Extinguishing Association was not comparable to ordinary Monster Warriors; even when attacked, he was still able to react and respond.

Nevertheless, Su Changkong did not come away empty-handed; he managed to sever one of the cloaked elder’s arms with a single strike, and with his Immortal Body, even that arm was hard to heal!

The cloaked elder’s severed arm meant that, despite his Demon Monster Immortal Body, he could not use it to its full effect. The arm could not reattach and regenerate, and he was also suffering from a pain that went deep into his soul, making it clear to him that the opponent’s blade harbored Blade Intent capable of harming the spirit!

“Five-Qi Grandmaster?”

The lightning-fast change of events left everyone present in shock.

Initially, Cangwen Yu and others had looked down on Dao Wufeng for so quickly stepping out to surrender, but when he approached the messenger, he did not hesitate to attack, inflicting severe damage on the cloaked elder!

The words blurted out by the elder as his severed arm lay on the ground also shocked everyone.

“Five-Qi Grandmaster? This Dao Wufeng is a Five-Qi Grandmaster?”

Cangwen Yu was somewhat dumbfounded.

Cangwen Yu knew Su Changkong was unfathomable, capable of bringing out many Innate Qi for trade, giving off a sense of composure yet danger.

But no matter how Cangwen Yu imagined it, he could never have envisioned that Dao Wufeng was a Five-Qi Grandmaster, one who had mastered Blade Intent!

Otherwise, the cloaked elder, being a Monster Warrior himself, wouldn’t have lost his composure to such an extent over the loss of an arm.

Kuotuo, who had been standing calmly, now frowned deeply, “Five-Qi Grandmaster? Dao Wufeng? Does the Great Flame Empire even have such a Five-Qi Grandmaster?”

Five-Qi Grandmasters were among the most elite forces in the Innate Realm, typically only found within top sects, thousand-year-old noble families, and royal families. Each had tremendous renown.

However, Kuotuo did not recall any Five-Qi Grandmaster named Dao Wufeng in his memory!

And the cloaked elder, with a fierce gaze, turned to Qi Gang, who also looked stunned, and roared, “Qi Gang, what is the meaning of this?”

Undoubtedly, the cloaked elder was now suspicious of Qi Gang. There was a Five-Qi Grandmaster in their team, which was intelligence they did not have beforehand. Could it be that Qi Gang had ulterior motives, planting a Five-Qi Grandmaster within their group to catch them off guard?

Qi Gang’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly said, “Messenger Qi Jin, you’ve misunderstood me, I truly don’t know him at all! It was someone else who found him!”

Qi Gang was equally outraged in his heart. He really did not recognize Dao Wufeng; it was Cangwen Yu who had brought him in for the sake of a high-tier Spirit Pill Recipe, and Qi Gang had not been overly concerned.

But this low-key Dao Wufeng, whose name he had never even heard before, turned out to be a Five-Qi Grandmaster who had comprehended Blade Intent!

“Lord Qi, together, you and I can certainly wipe out this group of Monster Men, and then you will surely be able to rise high and take a leading position in the Demon Suppressing Department!”

Seeing this play out, Su Changkong’s eyes flickered cunningly, and he immediately called out to Qi Gang. Su Changkong’s sudden attack had made the cloaked elder suspect Qi Gang of having ulterior motives.

So Su Changkong decided to add fuel to the fire, which would work perfectly if it resulted in internal strife and mutual suspicion and wariness!

“They’re working together? Those Demon Suppressing Department folks really can’t be trusted!”

As expected, with Su Changkong’s words, Kuotuo and the cloaked elder both looked coldly at Qi Gang, and the rest of the Monster Warriors also bared their teeth, thinking that Qi Gang was putting on an act, coordinating with a ’Five-Qi Grandmaster’ hidden in the shadows to deal them a devastating blow.

Qi Gang cursed inwardly, knowing that Su Changkong was sowing discord. He needed to prove his innocence; otherwise, not only would he fail to join the Life Extinguishing Association, but his betrayal of the Great Flame Royal Family would undoubtedly result in him being hunted down across the world.

Without hesitation, Qi Gang said sternly, “Don’t listen to his nonsense! If I were really performing with him, I wouldn’t have killed my own friends!”

Qi Gang made a sensible point—he had suddenly attacked his own comrades, but he had truly gone for the kill, taking down five elite Innate Martial Artists on the spot. It indeed seemed unlikely that he would kill so many Innate Martial Artists just for a show.

Then Qi Gang added, “Gentlemen, leave this kid to me! I will take his head!”

Qi Gang spoke fiercely. With matters having escalated to this point, he had no way back. He had betrayed the royal family and was now under suspicion by the Life Extinguishing Association; his prospects were indeed grim.

The only thing Qi Gang could do was to kill Su Changkong and prove his innocence, naturally exposing the false accusations!

“Good.”

The cloaked elder nodded slowly, and Kuotuo remained silent. This was indeed a way to dispel their doubts.

Qi Gang took a deep breath, his expression returning to calm as he focused on Su Changkong, “Your name is Dao Wufeng? Why must you oppose me, Qi?”

In Qi Gang’s view, someone as powerful as Su Changkong would not be involved in this operation just for a Pill Recipe; it was more likely that the latter had received some information and deliberately infiltrated the team.

“Could it be… one of the Hidden Dragon Guard?”

Qi Gang speculated further about Su Changkong’s identity.

In the Great Flame Empire, there were many special organizations, each with their own duties: the Demon Suppressing Department to deal with Demon Monsters and Monster Warriors, the Divine Detective Department to hunt down vicious fugitives, and the Flame Dragon Guard to protect members of the Yan Imperial Family.

And it was rumored that the Yan Imperial Family had the most mysterious team of all, called the Hidden Dragon Guard.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel