The owners of these little trinkets were alive and well just a few days ago. All of them had their own dreams—maybe they had wanted to have the entire world—but now they had been reduced to a pile of corpses.

He shook his head and put down the short sword. He picked up the broken knife once again.

This knife was most likely broken by the short sword. The owner of the broken knife was still alive, and it was possible that he was the killer. Could he be a lucky survivor instead?

The biggest possibility was still that he was the killer. Which a.s.sociation was he from exactly?

He once again activated the All-Seeing Divine Power and was prepared to use G.o.d's Limbs to find that person.

"Eh?" He widened his eyes suddenly.

The connection was severed abruptly. The owner of the broken sword was also dead. It happened when he was daydreaming. It was indeed odd.

As he thought about this, the Heavenly Demonic Orb above his precordium dropped, and his body was immediately filled with limitless power. His five senses heightened and his spirit grew sharper and stronger. He once again activated the All-Seeing Divine Power and then disappeared in a flash.

The next moment, he appeared inside a city. All around was a cacophony of screams and shouts.

Under the moonlight, two groups of people fought at close quarters. A couple of men would be killed in the span of a few seconds. The fight was cruel and fierce.

Twenty or so people had already fallen as he was standing there. The remaining hundred or so people continued fighting. Blood-curdling screams sounded left and right. Curses and profanities were shouted incessantly. Their screams were tinged with desperation and insanity.

Chu Li frowned and s.h.i.+fted his gaze to a middle-aged man at one corner of a wall. He was the owner of the knife, and he was indeed dead.

He stood in the shadows and studied the surroundings.

There were four Innate Masters while the rest were Acquired Masters. They were not even worth mentioning in his eyes, but their Martial Art were indeed more than adequate. Their enemies fell one after another.

Ten people fought on one side and a hundred and twenty people on the other.

The ten people were wicked wolves while the hundred and twenty people were sheep. It was as if they did not have any power to fight back. They could only fight desperately for their lives, failing to stop their numbers from decreasing.

Their eyes were already bloodshot. Even if they could not defeat their opponents, they would make sure they perished together. It was a shame that they were only Acquired Masters, and the difference between their opponents and themselves was too large. They could not bring them down with them and could only be killed one by one.

Chu Li was not in a hurry to intervene. He stood to the side and found the leaders.

The two middle-aged men were both Innate Masters. They fought against each other, and it was hard to distinguish who was superior.

"You with the surname Ling, don't get ahead of yourself!" A short and plump middle-aged martial arts master said, "Even if you did kill us, it'll still be useless!"

The other handsome middle-aged man smirked, "You're not meant to have it. Stop reaching out to take it!"

"You think you can s.n.a.t.c.h it?" The short and plump middle-aged man laughed loudly. "To tell you the truth, I have destroyed it after reading it. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to get the secret manual."

The handsome middle-aged man said coldly, "I don't believe that you have the heart to destroy it!"

"What's that about having the heart to or not? No one should have it if I can't have it myself!" The short and plump middle-aged man continued to cackle. "I know that I can't hide nor protect it from others, but since it's now etched in my brain, who among you dares to kill me?"

"Hmph, if we can't kill you, then the people around you can give up on living!" The handsome middle-aged man laughed. "We'll kill each and every single one of them and see if you can bear it or not!"

"Go ahead and kill them. I already know that no one would be left alive the day I got my hands on the secret manual!" The short and plump middle-aged man's laughter was tinged with madness. "If you kill me, no one will be able to obtain it anymore. This worthless secret manual will disappear from the world forever!"

"Wu Zhi, if you hand over the secret manual, I can spare your lives!" the handsome middle-aged man said in a low voice. "I, Ling Haiya, am a man of my word!"

"Hmph, I don't believe you!" Wu Zhi laughed coldly.

Ling Haiya said, "Why don't you bet on this since you're going to die sooner or later? I might really abide by our agreement!"

"Dream on!" Wu Zhi pursed his lips and said, "You're just making fun of me. I already knew that I would die soon ever since the day I obtained the secret manual, but I'm not satisfied with this fate, so I'll bring this secret manual along with me to the grave!"

"Since you already know, then why did you s.n.a.t.c.h it!" Ling Haiya shook his head. "If you're not meant for it, you'll lose your life trying to take it!"

"You with the surname Ling, don't just talk about me, you're the same as well!" Wu Zhi disappeared in a flash and jumped onto the roof. "Do you think you're meant for it? Everyone knows Ling Haiya of the Hao Ran Faction s.n.a.t.c.hed the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual!"

He was an Innate Master. His voice could be heard from two miles away with him shouting this hard.

"You're courting death!" Ling Haiya's expression turned icy at once, and he glared vehemently at Wu Zhi. "Alright, you with the surname Wu, I want to see exactly how hard that mouth of yours is!"

He turned his head to look. The High Ridge a.s.sociation was no match for his ten disciples. If it were not for the Innate Master from the High Ridge a.s.sociation, this fight would have been over long ago.

Wu Zhi's shout was troublesome. Some may have heard him. He would have to waste another trick on him.

Wu Ji laughed rambunctiously. "You with the surname Ling, if I have to suffer, then you'll suffer along with me!"

"Go die!" Ling Haiya laughed furiously. His figure suddenly became distorted, and he flitted towards Wu Zhi like a wisp of smoke.

Wu Zhi wanted to evade but was not able to do so. He could only watch with wide eyes as a palm struck his chest. He was flung far away as a consequence.

"Bam!" Wu Zhi fell to the ground. His entire body throbbed painfully.

He spat out a mouthful of blood and felt so much better afterward.

Ling Haiya landed beside him and used the tip of his toe to hit some of his acupuncture points. He clapped his hand, and his face turned pale.

His blood was surging tumultuously inside of him when he was using his secret skill. He was not much better off than Wu Zhi.

After sealing Wu Zhi's acupuncture points, he shot back to the other side and helped his companions against the Innate Master.

The Innate Master was an elder. He saw that the situation had turned unfavorable for him, so he turned and ran.

Ling Haiya signaled for his companions to go after him. Then, he carried Wu Zhi into a house. He was prepared to punish him until he opened his mouth. He had to obtain the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual no matter what happened.

Chu Li, who was watching everything from the side, shook his head with a sigh.

Humans were greedy like that. They would give their lives away just like Wu Zhi and his subordinates. They exterminated the Autumn Wind Camp and were exterminated by the Hao Ran Faction. The cycle of life and death had come full circle. People would be given the fate they all deserved at the end.

He could imagine that the Hao Ran Faction would be struck by misfortune soon too!

He fluttered to a bedchamber inside the house. He moved the bed inside the bedchamber and pulled out a brick in the corner of a wall. He saw a thin book wrapped in oil paper was hidden

inside.

He never thought he would find the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual this easily.

The reason Wu Zhi said that he had already destroyed it was to protect himself. He indeed could not bear to destroy it.

Chu Li opened the oil paper and inside was a yellowed book that consisted of only a few dozen pages. The four words "Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual" were written in flamboyant fonts with a formidable aura.

He slowly opened it and flipped through the pages.

The first three pages were about an odd heart technique and the twelve pages after that were about a sword technique. There was nothing much besides those. It was hard to believe that this was the reputable Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual.

This heart technique was quite odd, and he did not understand it. The following record of the sword technique was a little odd as well.

Chu Li frowned but eventually shook his head. He kept the secret manual on him, placed the brick back, and rearranged the bed. After making sure that everything was back in its original state, he disappeared in a flash. No one knew about his visit.

He returned to the Imperial Residence of King An in a flash.

The Imperial Residence of King An was already deep in slumber. He sat in the courtyard with the gentle moonlight s.h.i.+ning upon him like water.

He lowered his head and once again flipped through the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual with his brows furrowed.

The heart technique and the sword technique were strange. He tried a few strokes and found the sword technique very bizarre. The swordplay was very awkward. He had no way of judging the exquisiteness of the sword technique.