One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

No one!?

Did I hear wrong?

Or has the tension lately been so extreme that I’ve started to hallucinate?

Yuan Hong looked around, widened his perception, and indeed saw no one approaching. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, sensing that something was amiss, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. After hesitating for a while, he could only give up and go back inside the house.

Something seemed different inside the room, his head pounding fiercely, throbbing with sharp pain.

He staggered over to the desk.

His mouth was extremely dry, as if he had swallowed coal.

Water!

Yuan Hong could no longer focus his thoughts.

All he wanted was to drink some water, then lie down on the bed and have a good rest.

He lifted his cup, which had been empty just a moment ago, but now it felt strangely heavy, filled with some thick liquid.

Yuan Hong froze on the spot, his heart sinking slowly.

He looked down.

In the bronze wine cup, there was blood, full to the brim.

Soaking in it was an eyeball, veined with blood, staring blankly at him.

Boom!

It was as if something had exploded in his head.

Yuan Hong suddenly snapped back to awareness, he dry-swallowed, overturning the wine cup onto the floor, and the distinct iron scent of blood began to permeate the room.

"Who!" Yuan Hong shouted, looking around, "Who in the world is it!?"

"Appointed by the imperial court, the great General of the Northern Defense, to be my enemy is to be the enemy of the Great Zhou Dynasty!" Yuan Hong roared in a low voice, fierce yet innerly fragile, unable to hide the fear on his face. He felt a "whoosh" of cool air on his back, turned around sharply, and the window was empty.

Just when he thought he could relax, he felt something was dreadfully wrong and turned back—

Gurgle!

The teapot poured out amber tea, forming a spout of liquid falling into the expensive ceramic cup.

The giant held the teacup between two fingers, smiling, raised his hand to toast Yuan Hong from afar, and then gulped down the tea.

"You seem a bit flustered, need some tea?" Su Heng spoke with a comforting smile, "Panicking won’t help you, death is certain for you today, not even a god could save you."

He poured another cup of tea.

Laid it on the table and pushed it gently forward, the teacup coming to a stable stop in front of Yuan Hong, not even a drop of tea spilled onto the desk.

Yuan Hong looked down at the amber tea, and suddenly let out a long sigh of relief.

In an instant, it was as if he had been reborn.

All the weariness vanished like smoke, and the throbbing pain in his head was gone. He suddenly relaxed, feeling an unprecedented sense of calm. Though he knew his life was nearing its end, what was unexpected was that Yuan Hong didn’t feel much fear in his heart.

Instead, there was a sense of release.

Whoosh!

Yuan Hong pulled a chair from under the table and sat down on it.

Across a solid wood long table, the giant sat before Yuan Hong. He didn’t sit on a chair, but directly on the clean floor. The rooms in the General’s house were designed for burly warriors. Even so, fitting this person was somewhat forced.

He sat cross-legged, his head nearly touching the ceiling, his massive frame like a solid wall, filling up the space in front of Yuan Hong.

The man’s gaze looked down from up high.

His face bore a feigned smile, but his eyes were filled with cold light, as if he were interrogating a criminal with many sins.

"Although it’s our first meeting, I know of your background," Yuan Hong coughed twice and took the initiative, "The Capital Commandant from Baihua County in Jiangzhou, who almost single-handedly repelled the allied forces of the three Esoteric Sects on Skull Plain. Since you are now before me, it suggests—"

Yuan Hong hesitated on his face, "either Yu Qing’s mission failed, or the Corruption Demon God Marpa fell by your hand."

"Perhaps both are true," Su Heng answered.

Yuan Hong thought he no longer feared life or death, and would not be swayed by external things.

But upon hearing this simple response, he still couldn’t help taking a deep breath to calm the tumultuous thoughts within, "Compared to the Demon God Marpa, you are the true monster. It seems my loss is not a disgrace."

Yuan Hong wore a bitter smile, "Then, what is your purpose for coming here?"

"Who sent Yu Qing, who released the Demon God from his seal, and what for?" Su Heng asked.

"One intent was certainly to weaken the overall power of Skull Plain and the seven states of Jiang’e, but there must be other schemes behind this affair, beyond what I can access," Yuan Hong answered, "As for the person behind Yu Qing, it is the Capital Commandant of Yiluan Bureau, Jian Chuan."

"Including the order to release the Demon God, it was also issued by Jian Chuan."

"Jian Chuan..." Su Heng’s brows wrinkled slightly, recalling the name from Yu Qing’s memories.

"Jian Chuan also sent people to attack Baihua County, trying to seize the Golden Crow’s legacy, but they failed," Yuan Hong retrieved a document from the desk and handed it to Su Heng.

Su Heng took it, glancing through briefly.

The incidents in Baihua County didn’t surprise Su Heng.

After all, when he left Baihua County, the Golden Crow was already at the stage where it could hatch at any moment. Read the latest on empire

Moreover, even a freshly hatched divine beast is still a divine beast. Not something an ordinary Heavenly Deceit could handle, and actually, even at a level above Heavenly Deceit, the young Golden Crow should not be considered weak.

Although this incident had taken place less than a day ago.

The appearance of the Golden Crow, causing such a sensational phenomenon, Yuan Hong getting the news was within reason.

"Truly audacious."

Su Heng sneered, saying, "What level of power does this Jian Chuan have."

"Much stronger than me, he’s at the third step of Heavenly Deceit but has not broken through to the level above Heavenly Deceit," Yuan Hong answered.

"If that’s the case, then he’s not qualified to be the real mastermind," Su Heng said, "Since he gave the orders, there must be a backup plan. I doubt Jian Chuan, as the head of Yiluan Bureau, lacks the judgment to do that."

"You make a valid point," Yuan Hong said, "Jian Chuan is backed by the Firmament King of Qing State, and each Sovereign of the empire stands above Heavenly Deceit, possessing the strength to suppress demon gods and dominate the Mythical Battlefield. Although the Firmament King has only recently been titled a Sovereign, his achievements are solid and unquestionable."

"Somewhat interesting…" Su Heng snorted coldly, a dangerous red light flickering in his eyes.

The last time he heard this name was from Qin Shunying in the Golden Crow Secret Store. It was merely a verbal decree that brought the enormous Fiery Sun Sect to a critical juncture, even preparing them for a desperate struggle.

Truly overbearing, one can’t help but fathom the oppressive feeling it brought.

"Of course, this is just my speculation," Yuan Hong emptied the tea from his cup in one gulp and gently set it down, "As for the specific situation, I do not know. It’s possible that by killing Jian Chuan, you might obtain the information you desire. However, this Jian Chuan is extremely crafty, and it won’t be easy to extract information from him through interrogation."

"I know," Su Heng nodded.

"Is there anything else you want to clarify from me?" Yuan Hong asked.

"No more," Su Heng replied with a smile, "But to ensure the information I’ve obtained is correct, I still need to proceed with caution."

"What are you planning to do?" Yuan Hong lifted his head, a trace of unease flickering in his heart.

"Don’t worry, it will be over soon." In the shadows, Su Heng’s smile grew wider. A large hand materialized out of nowhere and rapidly expanded in Yuan Hong’s field of vision.

Ah!

A scream echoed alongside.

After a moment, Yuan Hong’s body, his features seeping blood, collapsed to the ground.

Just now, Su Heng had used a Secret Technique from the Tathagata’s Hidden Sutra recorded within to probe Yuan Hong’s memory.

Surprisingly, Yuan Hong had not concealed anything or lied. The words he had just spoken were almost entirely true.

"That’s for the best, saving quite a bit of trouble."

According to Yuan Hong’s memory, with Jian Chuan’s character, he should have already sensed the danger and left the region of Jiang E.

And the most likely place he would head to was Qing State, where Firmament King personally oversaw the Xuantian Prefecture.

If he set off now, moving swiftly,

He should be able to intercept Jian Chuan before he reached Xuantian Prefecture.

Yet, even so, it was inevitable that doing so would attract the attention of Firmament King.

Eliminating his people in front of him, regardless of whether the Firmament King was the mastermind behind this, a conflict was unavoidable, leading to an inevitable clash.

Sovereigns are almost the pinnacle under the empire’s standard battle strength.

Not only do Sovereigns have exceptional individual abilities, matching or even surpassing that of demon gods, but they also represent the empire’s dignity.

To be an enemy of a Sovereign is to be an enemy of the empire itself.

But Su Heng was fearless.

Ultimately, it all came down to strength.

If the empire could not afford him the respect he desired, then he would have to take it himself.

...

...

...

Qimu State belonged to the region of Jiang E, while Qing State was one of the Thirteen States of Changyue.

The two states were adjacent, separated by the Qinglan River in the middle area.

The sun had just risen, and a fine mist still enveloped the Qinglan River, unrevealed. Through the mist over the river, one could faintly see the colossal beast-like Xuantian Prefecture on the other side. The river was wide, with boats plying back and forth.

On both sides of the riverbank, the vegetation was lush, and farther out lay the barren hills known as "Qimu Ridge."

Swish!

The breeze blew, causing the grass by the water to sway.

A figure in white robes, with handsome features and a slender build, appeared on the riverbank.

This person was Jian Chuan.

He was sweating profusely with rapid breathing, clearly panicked and almost paranoid on his journey here.

Yet, when he saw Xuantian Prefecture in the distance, Jian Chuan gradually relaxed, and an involuntary smile crept across his face.

"Though unexpected events occurred, fortunately, they came without harm, and I have made it back."

Jian Chuan had two plans in the works.

The first was to release a demon god; the second was to snatch the Golden Crow’s legacy egg.

Unexpectedly, both plans had failed, and Yu Qing, the Heavenly Contract Master, had not managed to return.

Realizing that he might have been exposed and was in danger, Jian Chuan didn’t hesitate a moment before withdrawing from the front lines and heading straight for the headquarters of Xuantian Prefecture.

As long as he could enter Xuantian Prefecture,

With the Sovereign’s protection, he would fear nothing, even if his actions were truly exposed.

"However, it’s wise to be cautious in the upcoming period. It would be best to request a transfer from the Thirteen States of Changyue. With such a vast world, a change of scenery means a new life of carefree pleasure." With the crisis behind him and a clear path emerging, Jian Chuan relaxed.

Only then did he realize how the easy life of the past seemed so wonderful, worth savoring in detail.

He took a step forward, ready to employ his movement technique and cross the Qinglan River.

But at that moment—

Swish!

The river wind blew in gusts, dispersing the fog.

Within the undulating grass by the water, a tall figure with long hair and a broad build stood before him. It was Su Heng.

A round, fiery sun rose slowly behind him, casting a shadow that spread and seemed alive.

Stretching, growing, spanning a distance of tens of meters.

Crawling up Jian Chuan’s legs, enveloping his body, and finally spreading across his face, marked with astonishment, fear, and shock, until darkness completely engulfed him.