Chapter 53: Captive

That very night, the news of Li Ping's capture spread throughout the entire city of Zigui.

Li Ning reacted swiftly, locking down the city of Zigui and forbidding anyone from leaving until Li Ping was found.

They had to see him alive or see his corpse if he was dead!

This was precisely what Lu Xingchen wanted to see.

He wanted to plunge Zigui into chaos. As for the blockade at the city gates, he did not care about it in the slightest.

Are you kidding? Xiao You could fly; of what use were these terrestrial blockades?

Early the next morning, Li Ning summoned the other three experts at the Greater Martial Master realm for a meeting.

In the conference room, Li Ning took a sip of tea and said indifferently, "Li Ping is missing. Who do you think did this?"

Sun Sheng said in a deep voice, "Lord Li Ning, I believe Lu Xingchen is behind this. He actually dared to come to Zigui, and he even made a move against our men!"

Another three-star Greater Martial Master, Wang Qian, said grimly, "Aside from Lu Xingchen, I don't think we have any other enemies. It must be him!"

Li Ning took another sip of tea and said in a low voice, "This Lu Xingchen is truly a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers! Knowing full well that I am holding the fort in Zigui, he still dares to come and throw his life away."

Sun Sheng said, "We are in the light while Lu Xingchen is in the dark. Lord Li Ning, what should we do next?"

Li Ning remained unhurried and calm.

"No need to rush. Lu Xingchen must have come to Zigui to rescue his father. By abducting Li Ping, he likely intends to negotiate with us. It won't be long before he takes the initiative to contact us. When that time comes, we can reunite father and son."

Upon hearing this, joy appeared on the faces of the three Greater Martial Masters.

"Lord Li Ning's analysis is brilliant. As expected, ginger grows sharper the older it gets! Lu Xingchen actually wants to bargain with us—he's courting death!"

Li Ning took another sip of tea and said calmly, "Sun Sheng, Wang Qian, the two of you lead a team to search Zigui and force Lu Xingchen to show himself. If you encounter him, fire a signal flare immediately and do not get bogged down in a protracted battle. Understood?"

"Understood!" the two replied in unison.

The third Greater Martial Master realm expert, Wang Bai, softly asked, "Then what should I do, Lord Li Ning?"

"You will stay behind to guard the City Lord's Mansion to prevent Lu Xingchen from jumping over the wall in desperation."

"Understood!"

At noon, Sun Sheng and Wang Qian, accompanied by ten Martial Masters, arrived at the inn where Lu Xingchen was staying.

Searching room by room, they quickly reached Lu Xingchen's door.

Sun Sheng kicked the door open, only for Lu Xingchen to strike him down with the "Heaven-Extinguishing Seal."

Sun Sheng immediately vomited blood and flew backward, slamming heavily into the wall.

Despite struggling desperately, he lacked the strength to stand back up.

"Lu Xingchen? You—you actually dared to come!"

"And why wouldn't I?"

Lu Xingchen smiled faintly and sealed him inside the Myriad Origin Umbrella.

Just as Wang Qian pulled out a signal flare, a blue-purple feathered arrow shot toward him.

The arrow made not a single sound. With Wang Qian's attention entirely focused on the signal flare, his chest was pierced straight through.

Immediately afterward, a blue-purple bolt of lightning struck down upon him, killing him on the spot.

The remaining ten Martial Masters were utterly dumbfounded.

Both Senior Wang Qian and Senior Sun Sheng were Greater Martial Master realm experts, beings far beyond their reach.

Yet now, in a single exchange, one was dead and the other incapacitated.

Just how terrifyingly powerful must the enemy be?

Lacking any will to resist, they scattered and fled in all directions.

Blue-purple feathered arrows shot out one after another, and before the ten Martial Masters could escape the inn, they fell to the ground one by one.

Watching Yun Li's terrifying output, Lu Xingchen gasped inwardly.

"Miss Yun Li, aren't you a bit too violent?"

"Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself. You must have heard that saying, right?"

"Brilliant!" Lu Xingchen gave her a thumbs-up.

Yun Li put away the longbow in her hand and smiled, "Lu Xingchen, what should we do next? Shall we use these two low-star Greater Martial Masters to negotiate with Li Ning? A two-for-one trade—perhaps he will actually agree."

Lu Xingchen said gravely, "Li Ning will never willingly trade with us. The moment he discovers our whereabouts, he will definitely try to kill us."

Yun Li asked with some confusion, "Then what are you planning to do?"

Lu Xingchen smiled faintly, "You'll find out soon enough. Let's leave these corpses here to deprive Li Ning of a few nights of sound sleep. Let's go!"

The two left the inn and put on disguises in a deserted alley.

Yun Li's disguise techniques were exceptionally superb. With her assistance, coupled with the Breath-Hiding Pills, the two easily blended into the crowd.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Ning arrived at the inn accompanied by Wang Bai.

Upon seeing Sun Sheng's corpse, Li Ning slammed his palm violently against the wall and shouted harshly, "Lu Xingchen, you push me too far!"

The stone wall of the inn instantly shattered, sending dirt and debris flying.

Wang Bai's tone was filled with shock, "To defeat Wang Qian and Sun Sheng so quickly—they didn't even have the chance to fire a signal flare!"

Li Ning said in a deep voice, "Clearly, Lu Xingchen did not come alone; he has a formidable helper. However, this helper has evidently not reached the Martial Spirit realm. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to resort to such petty tricks—he could have simply broken straight into the City Lord's Mansion."

"Then what should we do, Lord Li Ning?"

"We continue to wait! Lu Xingchen should be showing himself very soon. Stay by my side these next few days and don't get captured again."

"Understood!"

Early the next morning, Lu Xingchen arrived at a deserted corner in the east of Zigui City and laid the unconscious Sun Sheng and Wang Qian on the ground.

Then, alongside Yun Li, he sprinted at top speed toward the vicinity of the City Lord's Mansion in the west of the city and waited quietly.

Yun Li's tone held a trace of surprise, "Lu Xingchen, I think I'm starting to understand your plan. This diversionary tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain is truly brilliant!"

Lu Xingchen said solemnly, "Once Li Ning heads to the eastern part of the city, we will make our move. As for the remaining guard force at the City Lord's Mansion, I will have to rely on Miss Yun Li to deal with them."

Yun Li smiled, "You can rest assured when I handle things!"

Half an hour later, a Phoenix-Singing Kingdom soldier rushed into the City Lord's Mansion in a panic.

"Lord Li Ning, we found Wang Qian and Sun Sheng in the east of the city. They were knocked unconscious!"

Hearing this, Li Ning was not alarmed but delighted.

"Splendid, Lu Xingchen has finally made his move. He must be hiding in the east of the city. I will go there personally to ensure a kill in a single strike!"

Wang Bai looked worried. "Lord Li Ning, I fear this might be a diversionary tactic. What if you leave and Lu Xingchen launches a frontal assault on the City Lord's Mansion? What should we do?"

Li Ning hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "What you say makes sense. Here is what we'll do: you remain stationed outside Lu Zhaoyang's cell, and mobilize heavy reinforcements to conceal themselves within the City Lord's Mansion."

"If Lu Xingchen really does appear, fire a signal flare immediately. I don't need you to defeat him—give me just a quarter of an hour, and I will be back."

"Understood!" Wang Bai felt significantly more at ease.

Li Ning immediately rushed toward the eastern part of the city.

He brought no troops along, traveling entirely alone. Such was his confidence as a Martial Spirit realm expert.