He observed the young man with a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to guess the person’s identity.

　　However, the young man casually rose from his seat and left the restaurant to trail after Yue Ru a moment later.

　　Nine Star Tower was not very far from the Phoenix Goddess Brothel. The two places were roughly three miles apart.

　　Yue Ru did not use her Light-body Technique and was strolling down the busy avenue instead. Occasionally, she would stop by a stall, pick up a trinket, and inquire about its price. Then, after having bargained for a lower price, she would purchase the item. Soon, she had bought five pieces of jewelry.

　　As the young man trailed behind her, he gently swayed the folding fan in his hand with a relaxed expression while walking leisurely along the street. At times, he would also stop to browse a few stalls and ask about the market price of some items.

　　As for Chu Li, he was a mile away from the two of them.

　　When he strolled along the avenue and listened to the noisy bargaining and idle gossip of the people around him, he found himself enjoying this lively atmosphere very much. Nonetheless, he knew that he could only appreciate this for a short period. He would not be able to stand it if he were to live such a normal life for an extended period of time.

　　Yue Ru gracefully walked on before turning left into an alley and leaving the busy avenue at last.

　　The alleyway was quiet and secluded and its winding path seemed to stretch on endlessly. Although the alley and the avenue were only a street apart, they looked like two different worlds altogether.

　　The young man appeared abruptly from the corner of the alley and threw himself at Yue Ru at an incredible speed like a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey.

　　Yue Ru glided backward instantly to avoid him and then frowned as she asked, “Who are you?”

　　The young man stopped and gave a fist salute as a faint smile entered his face. “I’m Sun Shiting from the Church of the Bloody Garment. Greetings, Miss Yue Ru of Tian Luo Sect!”

　　“Sun Shiting!” Yue Ru scoffed coldly. “You people from the Church of the Bloody Garment have returned after all!”

　　“The Church of the Bloody Garment will never forget Tian Luo Sect’s great kindness toward us!” Sun Shiting said with a smile. “Not a day goes by that we don’t think about repaying your kindness. Today, Miss Yue Ru, I shall take your life first. Consider it a small amount of interest paid on your part.”

　　Yue Ru calmly replied, “You’re very bold.”

　　“Miss Yue Ru, you’ve been too careless this time,” Sun Shiting said while shaking his head. “Since you don’t have your guzheng with you right now, you can’t perform the Musical Assassination Technique. I feel bad to take advantage of you like this!”

　　“If you feel bad, you can just leave,” Yue Ru retorted.

　　Sun Shiting laughed. “Haha, Miss Yue Ru, how can I let go of such an opportunity though? Even if I may feel guilty about this, I still have to fight you for the sake of the Church of the Bloody Garment!”

　　“How pretentious!” Yue Ru gave a scornful laugh. “Go on and fight me then!”

　　Sun Shiting replied, “Well then, I’m sorry for having to do this to you. Don’t worry, Miss Yue Ru. I’ll give you a proper burial and offer prayers for you on your death anniversary every year. I promise not to let you suffer after you’ve passed on to the next world.”

　　Yue Ru gave him an emotionless glare and suddenly pulled out a jade flute from inside her sleeve before placing it to her lips and then softly blowing into it.

　　“Toot…” A clear, resonant sound could be heard. Sun Shiting felt his body quiver.

　　His expression immediately changed. His calm and confident demeanor vanished instantly as he charged toward Yue Ru desperately.

　　“Toot, toot…” The jade flute continued to produce a bright and penetrating sound while Yue Ru glided around gracefully as if she was treading in water to avoid being captured by Sun Shiting.

　　Sun Shiting seemed like a crazy tiger as he frantically tried to attack her. His fist force was so violent and strong that it produced a howling noise.

　　Nonetheless, the howling noise from his fist force could not overpower the sound of the jade flute. As the melodious tune from the flute entered his ears, it seemed to merge with his heartbeat. Whenever the tune became louder, his heartbeat would suddenly speed up. Then, as the tune grew softer, his heartbeat would slow down accordingly.

　　The energy Sun Shiting drew from his blood essence was potent and contained formidable power, but unlike inner energy, it could not be used to regulate his body very effectively and was incapable of protecting his heartbeat from the influence of the flute’s sound. Therefore, as his heart rate fluctuated according to the changes in the tune, his whole body grew weak very quickly.

　　Sun Shiting glared at her while gnashing his teeth in anger. Now, his charming face seemed rather sinister and malicious as he shouted, “I was originally planning to let you die a quick death, but since you asked for it, I’m going to make sure you suffer a painful and ugly death, a very ugly one!”

　　As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes turned red as though two fireballs were burning brightly in his pupils. After that, his face became red too as if it was covered by a red veil. He looked horrifyingly wicked.

　　He moved at a ghostly speed as he swung his fist at her.

　　“Bang!” A crack appeared on the quartzite road at the spot where Yue Ru had been standing.

　　“Bang, bang, bang, bang…” As Yue Ru kept moving backward, his fist force continued to destroy the quartzite road.

　　Chu Li was still a mile away when he frowned in surprise at how powerful and destructive Sun Shiting’s fist force was.

　　This fist force was not like the kind of force that could be produced by a person’s inner energy. It was much tougher and not as mild, so it was a more brutal force.

　　Yue Ru tried her best to continue playing the flute while retreating.

　　However, she was not fast enough and Sun Shiting caught up with her in the blink of an eye. He launched a fist at her and Yue Ru blew harshly into the flute, producing a sudden sharp whistling sound.

　　Sun Shiting slowed down for a moment. After the red glow in his eyes flickered a few times, he charged at Yue Ru once again while throwing another punch.

　　Yue Ru could not avoid the attack this time and yet did not want to endure the attack without fighting back, so she gathered a bout of energy at her palm and then thrust that palm forward to block the attack while avoiding physical contact with him.

　　“Bang!” Yue Ru was sent flying off and crashed into the wall. She then spat out a mouthful of blood.

　　Sun Shiting charged at Yue Ru again without stopping.

　　After Yue Ru fell to the ground, she quickly took out a string of silver bells from her inner pocket and shook it a few times.

　　Sun Shiting slowed down again and seemed to be in pain but then proceeded to throw himself at Yue Ru while launching a fist with more force than before.

　　Yue Ru was left with no choice but to roll away to avoid him. The bells stopped chiming and lost their influence on the man.

　　Sun Shiting sped up immediately as he shot toward her like an arrow. Yue Ru was forced into a tight corner as she struggled to dodge his attacks. She no longer had the time to use the string of bells in her hand and so it was rendered useless.

　　Then, Sun Shiting’s body movement technique became faster and faster until Yue Ru could not avoid his attacks anymore; she was sent flying away with a loud “bang” again.

　　Sun Shiting laughed cruelly. “It’s time for you to die!”

　　A change occurred in his right palm as it suddenly became bright red as if he had just smeared his palm with his blood.

　　Upon seeing this, Yue Ru gave up all hope.

　　She knew that this was the Blood-sucking Palm of the Bloody Garment Divine Power. If his palm were to land on her, her body would shrivel up and become a dry corpse. When she imagined how ugly and miserable she would look if she got hit by him, a fearful chill went down her spine.

　　“Bang!” With an explosive sound, Sun Shiting was sent flying and crashed into the wall beside him.

　　Chu Li’s white clothing fluttered in the wind as he glided over to Yue Ru and asked calmly, “Miss Yue Ru, are you okay?”

　　Yue Ru felt her whole body relaxing and going limp when she realized that she had escaped death this time. She shook her head weakly. “Young Master Zhao, I’m okay. You have to be careful not to hit or touch his palm. Otherwise, your blood essence will be sucked away by him!”

　　Chu Li nodded and said, “Understood.”

　　Sun Shiting touched his throat as he rose to his feet and glared at Chu Li resentfully.

　　Chu Li raised his eyebrows and laughed.

　　He noticed that the wound on Sun Shiting’s throat was wiggling about as though it had come alive. In an instant, his wound had closed and was completely healed.

　　Chu Li nodded and said, “This is quite a special martial art.”

　　“Be careful!” Yue Ru reminded anxiously. “This is the Bloody Garment Divine Power. It can be used to devour the opponent’s blood essence, so his own blood essence is far more potent than most people. Furthermore, his inner energy is different than the usual inner energy and is more overbearing, so you should neither touch his palm nor try to compete with his inner energy.”

　　Chu Li muttered, “Well then, how can he be killed? His wounds have already healed completely.”

　　“These people may seem strong, but their vital organs are very weak,” Yue Ru explained. “In fact, their internal organs are more fragile compared to most Grandmasters. That’s why they’re afraid of Tian Luo Sect’s martial arts. Unfortunately, I haven’t fully mastered our martial arts yet, so I’m unable to restrain his powers!”

　　Chu Li nodded. “Good to know.”

　　Sun Shiting charged forward like a ferocious tiger.

　　Chu Li flicked his wrist.

　　Sun Shiting was once again sent flying and crashed into the wall.

　　With another flick of his wrists, Sun Shiting was instantly pinned on the wall. Then, he stared ahead helplessly as Chu Li’s fist struck his heart.