Zhang Ci stood beside the corpse of Meng Jian, unmoving, his face so heavy it seemed like water could start dripping from it.

　　Fa Wu and Fa Xiang could both sense his anger and killing intent.

　　“Please restrain your grief, Almsgiver Zhang. Almsgiver Meng wanted to take revenge for his brother, so he tried to assassinate Princess Xiao from the Imperial Residence, however, he got killed by Almsgiver Chu instead. It is hard to differentiate just who is taking revenge on who.” Fa Xiang bowed with pressed palms and sighed.

　　Zhang Ci coldly looked towards Fa Xiang. “What you mean to say, Great Master, is that I need to pay attention to who is right or wrong? Is this how the Tempest Temple does things?”

　　“Amitabha Buddha…” Fa Xiang helplessly uttered a chant.

　　The way the four major factions did things was mostly centered around maintaining their prestige. As long as it was their own disciples, anyone who hurt them was in the wrong, and they would hurt the perpetrators back. If their disciples were killed, they would kill the person who killed them, or else everyone would dare to kill their disciples!

　　“Does Almsgiver Zhang want to go to the Imperial Residence? Almsgiver Chu’s current position…” sighed Fa Xiang.

　　“Hmph, he is a Secret Guardian of the Imperial House, as well as the Head Chief of the Imperial Residence of King An! So what! … I will take his life personally!” Zhang Ci said lightly.

　　“Injustice will be paid with injustice…”

　　“Great Master, You need not say anything more. If this happened to the Tempest Temple, would you be willing to just let him live?” Zhang Ci immediately interrupted his words and said lightly.

　　“Almsgiver Chu has killed disciples from our temple too. Although he was a renegade disciple, we did pursue him once. However, in the end, we let him go. Almsgiver Chu has a righteous heart and should not be killed.” Fa Xiang shook his head.

　　“Haha!” Zhang Ci laughed loudly.

　　Fa Xiang’s expression did not change at all. He merely continued smiling lightly at him.

　　Fa Wu remained unaffected as he pressed his palms in front of his chest, not getting angry.

　　The truth was he found it strange as well. Why did the Temple change their attitude towards Chu Li and stopped pursuing him?

　　On the surface, they said it was because Chu Li’s heart was righteous and he should not be killed, but Fa Wu did not believe that. There must have been a reason which they could not let others know. As a disciple with the name ‘Fa’, he only feared that he would not have the authority to find out.

　　“Almsgiver Zhang, be careful. Should Almsgiver Meng be sent back to the Amethyst Mountain?” Fa Xiang did not advise him anymore.

　　“No need. Let him be at peace here. I’ll leave that to you, Great Master,” said Zhang Ci.

　　“Almsgiver Meng and Junior Fa Wu are very close, there is no need to be courteous. It is a shame that even though we saved him once, we could not save him the second time. Destiny dictates, and karma comes to a full cycle. There is nothing that can be done about that.” Fa Xiang shook his head and sighed.

　　Zhang Ci scoffed.

　　‘The disciples of the Amethyst Mountain did not believe in these Buddhist concepts. What karma, what retribution? It was all bullshit!’

　　——

　　Zhang Ci reached the Imperial Residence of King AnKing An.

　　He turned into a shadow, leisurely threading past Protector after Protector. He rounded the entire Imperial Residence once, and finally arrived in Chu Li’s courtyard. He quietly melted into the shadow of the wall.

　　He saw Chu Li and waited for him to let down his guard. If he struck then, he would definitely kill him.

　　Chu Li was in the courtyard cultivating his Heavenly Demonic Power.

　　After absorbing the inner energies of three Shadow Thunder Palm, the Heavenly Demonic Power finally had a fraction of a chance to break through.

　　The force entered the Heart of Asura in his chest in an unending stream and was immediately devoured by the Heavenly Demonic Energy. It was a shame that the Heavenly Demonic Energy was not very fond of the Heart of Asura anymore, as if the Heart of Asura was not refined enough.

　　Chu Li knew that in order to break past the third layer, he would need refined inner energy, similar to the inner energy of the Shadow Thunder Palm.

　　Around this time, he realized Zhang Ci’s presence.

　　Zhang Ci’s cultivation level could not be compared with Meng Jian’s. Even two Meng Jians would not be able to match one Zhang Ci.

　　Chu Li suspected that Zhang Ci’s cultivation level was higher than his own by a layer. No wonder he dared to come to the Imperial Residence of King An immediately. Capable people had huge audacity.

　　As a High Official of the Imperial House, his position was incredibly high, and Zhang Ci would not be afraid of Chu Li’s either.

　　Chu Li narrowed his eyes, the water ball the Heavenly Demonic Energy was channeling suddenly dropped into his precordium.

　　His blood immediately flowed like gushing river water, unlimited power coursing through his entire body. He took a fierce step forward and attacked a shadow with what looked like electricity.

　　“Bam!” the shadow wavered like rippling water.

　　Chu Li struck out a fist again.

　　“Bam bam bam bam…” Fist after first, his hands moved like lightning, changing into mere silhouettes as they attacked the wavering but unmoving shadow.

　　Zhang Ci felt like he was captured inside raging waves. Punches rained on him from all directions, and each attack carried the force of a thousand more. He could not resist them at all.

　　It was as if he could not think anymore and had to rely on pure instinct to defend himself. Every fist that hit him carried the weight of a mountain. Even if his inner energy was deeper and more perfect, in the face of this refined energy, it was fragile and could not take a hit. Zhang Ci retreated backward time and time again until he finally met with the wall.

　　“Bam! His body collided heavily with the wall. The wall seemed to waver as if it would crumble at any moment.

　　Zhang Ci felt like his internal organs were tumbling inside him. A portion of blood accumulated in his chest, as if it would gush out anytime.

　　Zhang Ci felt like he was being held back uncontrollably. His cultivation level was obviously stronger than the opponent’s, but he kept getting pushed back by brute force. It was as if this shallow power had become stronger until it reached this level, and became such a force of power.

　　More worryingly, Zhang Ci was a moment too late in activating his secret skill. His opponent had managed to snatch the first move, forcing him to be on the receiving end of blows without the chance to activate his secret skill.

　　“Bam!” Zhang Ci took yet another fist and was embedded in the wall. Cracks appeared on the surface of the wall.

　　“Ptui!” Zhang Ci spat out a mouthful of blood. After receiving that punch, he finally had the chance to hurriedly activate his secret skill.

　　“Kaboom…” The sound of thunder reverberated as if it was coming from the air, but it was actually coming from his body. Both his palms were tinged a slight blue hue and collided with Chu Li’s two fists.

　　“Bam!” the sound was as if a large object had dropped to the ground. Chu Li shuddered but immediately recovered back to normal. His expression showed a slight delight, and he shot out his palm again.

　　Zhang Ci was shocked and furious, this Chu Li could actually block the Shadow Thunder Palm!

　　He did not believe that was possible and shot two more Shadow Thunder Palms out.

　　Chu Li’s body only grew rigid, and his hair stood up, but he continued to attack with his palms.

　　If he did not see the way Chu Li’s hair stood up, Zhang Ci would have assumed that the Shadow Thunder Palm did not hit Chu Li at all. It did not manage to even slightly restrain his movement.

　　Once someone was hit by the Shadow Thunder Palm, their bodies would become rigid and be unable to move, leaving them at his mercy.

　　However, Chu Li was only frozen for a moment, which prevented him from attacking again. Zhang Ci needed to catch his breath after using the Shadow Thunder Palm.

　　It was during this period of time where he needed to catch his breath which allowed Chu Li to recover back to normal. He was helpless when that happened.

　　“Kaboom…” the sound of lightning reverberated several times, the Shadow Thunder Palm attacked Chu Li relentlessly.

　　Chu Li’s hair stood even higher, but his body grew less and less affected. Earlier he would be frozen for a moment, but now he did not stop at all. It was as if he was not receiving the Shadow Thunder Palm, but a normal palm technique.

　　No matter how deep Zhang Ci’s cultivation was, he could not handle activating the Shadow Thunder Palm this many times. His face quickly grew pale white, and feelings of weakness invaded his heart and mind.

　　He demonstrated the Shadow Thunder Palm desperately in anger, and now suddenly calmed down.

　　The Shadow Thunder Palm had consumed a huge amount of his spirit. After these ten fists or so, his spirit was completely empty. He feared that it might take around ten days for him to be able to recover.

　　As of now, the Shadow Thunder Palm was unable to kill Chu Li. He did not have many options left.

　　Thinking about this, the inner energy in his body continued to follow along with the route of the Shadow Thunder Palm. However, it did not manifest in Zhang Ci’s palms, but on his feet.

　　“Pew!” It was as if his body became a sharp arrow piercing through the air, or a bolt of lightning flashing by. He disappeared from Chu Li’s sight in an instant.

　　Chu Li’s eyebrows twitched. The Shadow Thunder Palm had such a strange use, it was certainly mysterious.

　　However, he was in no hurry to kill Zhang Ci.

　　Zhang Ci’s Shadow Thunder Palm was incredibly refined. Chu Li could see the vague fourth layer of the Heavenly Demonic Power. The Shadow Thunder Palm could be used as a method of breaking through; he could not just let it go.

　　It was a shame that Zhang Ci’s cultivation level was not profound enough, he did not have near unlimited inner energy like Chu Li, and could not keep using the Shadow Thunder Palm. Otherwise, he would have been able to enter the fourth layer of the Heavenly Demonic Power today itself. It really was a shame.

　　It would be best if he waited for Zhang Ci to recover his inner energy before confronting him again.

　　Or Chu Li did not have to go to them. Zhang Ci would bring people over to kill him. When they arrived at his doorstep, he would be able to break through the fourth layer of the Heavenly Demonic Power in one fell swoop.