The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 26 Behead!!!
The hungry ghost's blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, carrying a heart full of rage, and fell heavily. The gambling house owner was shocked; he hadn't expected that, under such pressure, this young swordsman would draw his blade without hesitation.

Did he want to kill someone?!
The monster used its claws to tear the heavy gambling table in half, but Zhou Yan's heavy sword had already come down. The monster crossed its claws and barely blocked the attack, its original hands transforming into giant rat claws.

He looked into those clear, black and white eyes and felt a sense of fear, a fear that his hidden identity had been exposed. He recoiled abruptly, losing his strength, and Zhou Yan's heavy sword slammed into the ground.

The wooden floorboards were split open.

Zhou Yan stepped forward and swung his sword horizontally.

The blade, as sharp as a bolt of lightning, slashed at the nearby candle, cleaving it in two with a snap. This monster was extremely slippery; it had almost no martial arts skills, yet its entire body seemed to be coated with oil.

Each time Zhou Yan's blade fell, it could only cut into clothes and flesh, as if it were cutting into oil.

The knife slipped.

But this guy's martial arts skills are really bad.

Soon, the casino owner's robe was chopped into pieces.

It revealed its obese body, which, in Zhou Yan's eyes, appeared as long gray hair with an oily sheen and a faint sandalwood scent. The people around it, being mortals, could not discern the true nature of the monster and simply assumed that someone had committed murder.

One by one, their faces turned ashen, and they rushed out screaming. Faced with death, they couldn't care less about the severe punishment for gambling in a group. They ran off howling. Although Zhou Yan couldn't kill the monster immediately, the rat demon couldn't escape under his swordsmanship.

Driven to desperation, the rat demon cried out, "I have no grudge against you. I was just setting up a gambling game to make money. Why are you trying to kill me?"

"I opened the casino, but those people came to gamble; I didn't harm them!"

“Those women and children were sold by their husbands and fathers.”

"What did I do wrong!?"

Zhou Yan had nothing to say.

Another heavy slash.

The monster's tail was almost chopped off, and finally, in a fit of rage, it shouted, "You madman, with your mortal martial arts, behold my magic!" It snapped its claws together, and the oil lamps in the gambling den suddenly burst into flame.

The oil lamp burned high, the flames seeming to fly out, casting lingering shadows around it. The Buddha statue in the niche was compassionate, its face veiled in a golden light.

The oil from the oil lamp splattered out.

Suddenly, everything around us went dark.

The rat spirit took a deep breath, and the entire piece of lamp oil flew into its mouth. Its cheeks bulged out, and then it spat it out fiercely, turning into flames. Zhou Yan hooked the table with his toes and kicked it hard.

The fire, mixed with oil, struck the table, exploding into a burst of flames.

Wherever the oil sticks, the fire burns fiercely.

As light and shadow shifted, the rat demon saw Zhou Yan cross the fire and pounce on her, the knife in his hand whistling. The rat demon's expression changed drastically, and she was about to cry out.

Martial arts, magic, and magical treasures can coexist without conflict.

But it has no magical weapons, and its martial arts skills are terrible.

The innate spell didn't work; the rat's instincts took over, and it wanted to run away.

Having exhausted some of his magical power, his body plummeted again, transforming into a greasy black shadow that squeezed out of the crevice at at least 50% faster than before.

I just wanted to rush out and escape.

This speed is comparable to a galloping horse.

Spells are spells, and they all have special effects. Zhou Yan held the knife in his right hand, pointed his fingers together with his left hand, locked his eyes on the dark shadow, and a part of his spirit was drawn away, turning into crimson flames.

[The flames of karmic fire and hunger!]
A ball of fire struck the dark shadow directly.

The rat spirit, who was about to run away, suddenly felt a twitch in its stomach. An intense hunger appeared in its mind in a completely unreasonable way, reminding it of the days when it stole lamp oil to eat in the temple before it had gained any intelligence.

When the monks light the oil lamps every day, it will quietly eat some of the food. It can also eat some of the offerings. Sometimes, when it can't find anything to eat, it has to go hungry, to the point of wanting to go crazy.

The intense hunger directly disrupted the mana cycle.

I was about to leave when I suddenly stumbled out of the shadows.

To cast a spell, one must concentrate, but when one is hungry, how can one maintain full concentration?

In that moment of distraction, Zhou Yan had already pounced forward. The rat demon turned around and was stepped on in the chest. A commotion came from outside, the shouts of gamblers who had run out, which attracted the officials who were there to catch the thieves.

Shouts could be heard outside: "Someone's killing someone with a knife?!"

"Quickly, quickly!" "Surround them!"

The rat spirit reached out to grab Zhou Yan's leg and cried out:

"My lord, spare my life!"

Zhou Yan saw the karma on the rat spirit's body and slashed down hard with his knife, aiming for the rat spirit's neck. The fur was slippery, and the blade almost slipped off. The rat spirit held on with all its might. Zhou Yan exhaled and pressed his left hand on the unsharpened part of the knife.

Every time the rat demon tried to struggle, it would be infused with a stream of [Karmic Fire and Hunger].

The feeling of hunger piled up in layers.

Finally, it turned into a burning, excruciating pain. The intense hunger caused severe stomach pain and spasms, making it unable to concentrate. In the end, even the demonic power that supported its fur was gone.

As Zhou Yan cast the spell of the Hungry Ghost, his hunger also accumulated.

But this hunger transformed into a raging fire of anger.

The blade was embedded in his neck, then cut inwards. The rat demon's eyes quickly became bloodshot and red. He struggled and resisted. In his almost unconscious vision, the rat demon saw that the thoughts of each person in the karma seemed to have taken form, and were doing their best to help Zhou Yan push the knife down.

you!!!

Zhou Yan exhaled, gripped the knife with both hands, and his muscles and bones exploded with power.

"cut!"

With a resounding clang, the Hungry Ghost Blade slashed across the rat demon's neck, black blood splattering everywhere. As the blade severed the meridians and bones in the neck, it finally reached its limit and broke in half.

Zhou Yan only had a broken sword in his hand.

The broken blade spun and fell to the ground.

As the rat demon's karma dissipated, its remaining soul transformed into black mist and attempted to leave. Zhou Yan raised his hand, and the jade book suddenly flipped open, gathering all the demon's black mist into the jade book. The jade book flipped rapidly, and an image slowly appeared on one of its pages.

On the monster's body, a faint golden light that Zhou Yan could see spread out and finally solidified, transforming into an ancient character.

town!
He wanted to see what the jade scroll revealed about the origin of this demon.

But now seems to be the wrong time.

Zhou Yan jerked his sword, the demon blood on its blade falling to the ground and emitting a foul stench. Outside, the sounds of armor and weapons, along with the shouts of arresting officials, could be heard.
"According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, killing someone with a knife or fighting and killing a gambling den owner is a reduced offense by one degree, only punishable by exile for three thousand li. However, if you remain stubborn and unyielding, you will be executed!"

Wang Erlang followed beside the constable, his body trembling, and stammered, "Yes, we came to find Lin Rongxuan. It's possible that Lin Rongxuan spent his friend's money on gambling. Perhaps, perhaps we'll kill him."

He felt fear, apprehension, and a sliver of hidden excitement.

The fear, the dread, was not that someone was being killed.

The real question is, if Lin Rongxuan is killed, will he also be punished by the authorities? After all, he was the one who revealed that he was in the gambling den. His excitement stems from the fact that the person who humiliated him is going to be killed.

The footsteps drew closer. The officer who was arresting the thieves gripped the knife at his waist. The guards beside him leveled their spears. Sword and shield soldiers stood in front, and crossbowmen stood behind. Even at this moment, the legacy of Emperor Taizong was still protecting the Tang Dynasty.

Amidst the somber atmosphere, the gambling den's doors were opened.

The area inside the door was actually a tea house, and the gambling den was located through a hidden door further inside.

The constable recognized Zhou Yan, the young swordsman, and his expression changed. He said:

"Why...it's you..."

Zhou Yan glanced at Wang Erlang, grabbed the unconscious Lin Rongxuan's foot, and threw the bruised and swollen guy to the ground. Lin Rongxuan rolled over twice, grimacing, clearly having woken up but too scared to open his eyes.

Everyone was watching Zhou Yan.

He had a knife at his waist, and with his left hand he held a head, which he threw to the ground in front of him.

The crowd gasped and retreated in unison. The officer drew his sword, but almost instantly, they saw the head of the wealthy man gradually twist and turn in the sunlight into a giant rat's head, with sharp teeth and an oily smell mixed with incense ash.

The officer's expression changed: "This... a demon?! A monster?!"

Zhou Yan, holding the broken sword sheathed in one hand, replied:

"This scoundrel has been slain by me."

Beside the constable, the city's lieutenant looked at the large rat with a moved expression and clasped his hands, saying, "May I ask the brave warrior's name?"

Zhou Yan replied, "Chang'an, Zhou Yan."

(End of this chapter)