Chapter 464 - 438: Who Would Fuss Over a Handful of Kalpa Ash?

The footsteps of the City Patrol Department drew closer.

A booming shout echoed from outside the teahouse on Sanming Street. "What brazen fool is causing trouble in here? Come out at once and surrender! Face the court, and you might have a chance to live. Otherwise, you’ll be thrown into the Celestial Prison and locked away for one hundred and eight thousand years!"

Whoa!

One hundred and eight thousand years!

A clear, cold voice drifted from within the teahouse. "Such a show of force. One hundred and eight thousand years? Your imagination certainly runs wild. Aren’t you afraid of biting your tongue when you talk so big? But I suppose it doesn’t matter, does it? After all, in one hundred and eight thousand years, you’ll just be a pile of dirt..."

The voice continued with a chuckle, "No, maybe you won’t even be dirt by then! So it’s fine to make empty boasts. After all, who’s going to argue with a pinch of ash?"

Though dripping with sarcasm, the words were amusingly delivered, drawing scattered laughs from the onlookers.

As the laughter erupted, a Silver Armored Military Officer at the head of the City Patrol Department soldiers flew into a rage. He focused his energy in his Dantian and let out a furious roar, "You insolent whelp!"

As he roared, he brandished a long spear.

This spear was a genuine Top Grade Magical Artifact. The moment the man raised it, a fierce gale immediately whipped up all around.

The crowd’s laughter died instantly. Some people quietly backed away into the throng, while many whose homes had been damaged in the preceding chaos began to cheer excitedly.

"Yes!"

"The officer’s taking action! That scoundrel is going to die without a grave!"

Amid the clamor of the crowd, the long spear shot forward like a bolt of furious lightning. Trailing a gust of wind, it whistled across the intervening space and flew into the teahouse.

Once inside the teahouse, the spear seemed to gain a mind of its own, abruptly changing course mid-flight and veering sharply to the right—

After all, the troublemaker in black wasn’t seated directly behind the main door, but in a corner to the right of the entrance.

Without that turn, it would have been impossible for the spear to strike its target from that position.

For the spear to execute such a smooth turn from a distance, even after passing through the doorway, proved that this Silver Armored Military Officer was certainly no weakling.

As expected, anyone who could join the City Patrol Department and become a high-ranking officer was bound to have some true skill.

At the same time, the Heaven and Earth Scale materialized beside Song Ciwan, receiving a mass of energy: [Human desires. The fury, fervor, and composure of an Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist. Weight: one jin and seven liang. Eligible for sale.]

Clearly, this energy had come from the Silver Armored Military Officer of the City Patrol Department.

Song Ciwan’s mind raced. Seeing the words "fervor" and "composure" in the Heaven and Earth Scale’s description, she couldn’t help but let out another soft laugh.

’The man is so furious, yet he can maintain his composure amid all that rage and fervor,’ she mused. ’It just goes to show, you can’t always trust it when people get angry.’

To the onlookers, all they saw was the young woman in black sitting in the corner. Faced with the spear hurtling furiously toward her, she neither dodged nor flinched, but actually let out a soft laugh.

Such arrogance, such a scene... it was all strangely similar to what had happened when Brother Wu had attacked her.

But she had effortlessly countered Brother Wu’s punch with a single finger. Could she neutralize the Silver Armored Military Officer’s spear just as easily?

Though it takes time to describe, everything happened in an instant. No one dared to blink, their eyes glued to the young woman in black in the corner.

The long spear screamed through the air, shattering the teahouse’s window lattice. It descended upon the young woman in black like a furious dragon, aimed straight for her face!

The people in the teahouse stared wide-eyed, covering their ears.

The crowd on the street stood on tiptoe or craned their necks, struggling to peer through the shattered window of the teahouse.

At that very moment, the young woman in black reached out her hand, just as she had before.

Only, last time she had extended a single finger. This time, she held out two.

Her two slender fingers came together in a gentle pinch, as if picking up a pair of chopsticks.

She caught it!

Just like that, with an air of casual ease, two long, elegant fingers had stopped the furious advance of a Top-Grade Magical Artifact spear.

The spear had arrived like thunder and lightning, darkening the sky and whipping up a gale. The teahouse’s window frame had shattered, its pieces raining to the floor.

But the moment it was caught, all was tranquil and serene, the storm suddenly gone.

Pinched between those two fingers, it no longer looked like a murderous, Top-Grade Magical Artifact spear, but a simple child’s toy!

Song Ciwan held the spear firmly. With another light twist of her fingers, she spun the weapon between them in a showy flourish.

Outside, at the very instant the spear was snatched away, the Silver Armored Military Officer, who had been striding toward the teahouse right behind his weapon, suddenly froze in his tracks.

He was standing right at the teahouse entrance, one foot on the threshold.

But he no longer had the strength to step inside. The moment the spear was taken, his own Qi Veins had suddenly seized up.

When a Magical Artifact is seized, its owner is certain to suffer a severe backlash.

The Silver Armored Military Officer’s face turned deathly pale, then his eyes went wide. He froze on the spot, his mouth agape.

HACK! HACK! HACK!

Several mouthfuls of blood sprayed from his mouth.

It wasn’t just his mouth, either. Blood was also trickling from his eyes, ears, and nostrils!

This was the meaning of bleeding from the seven orifices.

The Silver Armored Officer swayed, and the City Patrol Department Soldiers behind him rushed forward. Some scrambled to support him, while others cried out in alarm.

The onlookers had fallen completely silent. Only the Silver Armored Officer managed to wave a hand weakly. Spitting blood, he rasped with great difficulty, "Send the signal... use the golden Communication Talisman! Quickly!"

Out on the street, a City Patrol Department Captain who looked to be the officer’s second-in-command tore a Bamboo Talisman from his belt and quickly lit it.

BOOM!

A flash of light shot into the sky. The sound of the Bamboo Talisman’s explosion rang throughout the city as its golden radiance illuminated half the sky!

This was a Communication Talisman, a tool used by the Court for urgent dispatches.

Once a golden Communication Talisman was lit, it meant a crisis of Divinity Transformation Level or higher had occurred in the city.

The Silver Armored Martial Artist of the City Patrol Department was himself a Late-stage Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist. In a small, county-level city, such a level of Cultivation was enough to be considered a top-tier expert.

Yet the young woman in the teahouse had effortlessly snatched his Magical Artifact from the air with her bare hands. Such strength meant she had to be at the Divinity Transformation level, at the very least.

As for anything higher, the Silver Armored Martial Artist dared not even speculate.

Back in the teahouse, Song Ciwan finished her flourish, held the spear in one hand, and rose to her feet.

GASP!

A collective sharp intake of breath was heard.

The teahouse patrons immediately pressed themselves against the walls, wishing they could turn to paper and fuse with the surfaces behind them.

At the doorway, the few City Patrol Department Soldiers supporting the Silver Armored Military Officer moved to pull their superior back, but he stopped them. He managed to raise a hand and forced out the words, "Who... exactly are you? Why are you causing such a disturbance in this city?"

The young woman in black simply let out a soft sigh.