Chapter 53: With Valor and Pride, Crossing the Yalu River!

The servants of the Xu family ordered a coffin, intending it for the Second Master. When the coffin was delivered, a footman inspected it at the entrance before pushing it into the mansion and placing it in the mourning hall, ready to have the Second Master's body carried inside.

Mo Ran's shoulders dipped slightly as a black cat landed gracefully upon them. Surprised, Mo Ran stroked its head, wondering why Xingtian had reverted to its true form once again.

Outside, the sky had yet to brighten, shrouded in a hazy twilight. It was presumed that everyone was still fast asleep.

The Black Sage held little attachment to his hometown; looking back, feelings of unfamiliarity and pain dominated most of his memories. Yet, even when imagining the scenario, he made his choice without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing his normally composed son behaving with such frantic exasperation today, Li Qingwan felt a pang of reluctance in her heart. However, she could not bear to watch him sink deeper and deeper into a mistaken path, and therefore had to cut off this obsession of his.

At the opening of the fourth act, the Holy City could no longer tolerate the continued development of the City of Sages. Consequently, it secretly dispatched spies, even going so far as to co-opt young magic prodigies as operatives to infiltrate the ranks of the mages, attempting to gather intelligence through such means and deliver a fatal blow to their adversaries at the critical moment.

In truth, the real difficulty of such a competition always lay in maintaining consistent performance and preventing the decline in proficiency caused by late-stage mental exhaustion. Aside from those who, like A Yin, were exceptionally terrified of ghost stories and thus emotionally unstable due to Ke Ke's intimidation, most participants performed at their absolute best right at the beginning.

Han Yi pushed both the Kui Dragon Art and the Goddess Luo Art to their absolute limits. Silver arcs of lightning encircled his entire body, and the Thunder Escape Technique from the Sevenfold Thunder Killing Arts was unleashed to its maximum potential. He moved like a phantom among the grand army of demon emperors, and with every punch he threw, the physical body of a demon emperor would shatter into pieces.

"Just a car accident, isn't it? This is what they call giving someone a taste of their own medicine." Jin Lufeng still wore a carefree and nonchalant expression, speaking as casually as if he were discussing the weather.

Retreating rapidly, Han Yi formed seals with his left hand, and malevolent Qi immediately surged forth, spreading across the ground and concealing itself within the clouds of dust. Charging forward with unstoppable momentum, Han Tianyun brought his painted halvard down in a direct overhead strike.

This man was indeed peculiar. The reigning emperor was a wise ruler, and the Gathering Immortals Tower had been open in the capital for many years; yet, despite numerous investigations by government officials, no irregularities had ever been found.

Following Lin Ping'an's footsteps, the surrounding people slowly began walking toward the plaza's grand gates.

Looking at the live broadcast room, Zhang Feifei's face twisted uncontrollably, yet she forced herself to maintain a smile, appearing exceptionally gruesome.

Aside from the burly, robust man who had chosen to run all the way from the very beginning, the other three players also felt a pang of heartache over the cost.

"I still don't understand. You surely want me and Yu Li to fire Silly Zhu, but once Silly Zhu is gone, who is going to do the cooking? Aren't you just setting me up?"

Wan'er had no idea how things had come to this. Previously, the Prince Regent had merely treated her mistress with cold indifference, but now it could be said to border on contempt and humiliation.

The other end of the line suddenly plunged into a profound silence, to the point where even the sound of the wind seemed to have completely ceased, giving Luo Ran the illusion that the call had been disconnected.

Although the two had undergone a year of training, this was their first time executing such a mission. Furthermore, Lei Sheng had not explicitly clarified the specific situation within the bandit stronghold, leaving the pair feeling quite apprehensive, their hands trembling slightly as they gripped their firearms.

The new video was finally no longer of the educational or scientific genre, but rather a split-screen comparison video.

At first, Father had not noticed anything, but as he grew older, he realized that Uncle Song and Mother still looked as youthful as before. Only then did he take up the idea of skincare, visiting beauty salons even more frequently than Mother.

If they joined the fray, they might end up becoming a liability or even interfering with the Slave King, ultimately getting killed by him.

"This is bad! This True Person Qianlong is notoriously fiercely protective of his own, and Huo Long has always been regarded as his direct disciple. I'm afraid Daoist Hua will have a hard time clearing this hurdle!" Ling Xiang remarked.

To be honest, with Xing Cai and Bazett around, Li Wei probably wouldn't die. At the very least, he wouldn't be the first to go.

The President's office was crowded with the six major titans of the military-industrial complex. Even the President had no choice but to back down when faced with these aggressively formidable corporate chieftains. When all was said and forth, the President had always merely been a spokesperson. The ones who truly held the real decision-making power were the Federal Reserve.

Seeing Andy comforting Feng Yuanchan, He Yunyan's face turned completely pale, drained of all color.

If Malone's background was legitimate, then following him would be fine; but if Malone was a human trafficker, he absolutely could not allow Malone to leave the village.

He hated Taji Bu because Taji Bu obeyed only Zeng Guofan's commands, increasingly disregarding him as his superior official. His hatred for Zeng and Taji was merely an attempt to force Zeng back to Xiangxiang to observe filial mourning and to squeeze Taji out of the Hunan military circles. It was nothing more than that, with no other intentions.

However, just as he and Hertz were about to step out of the office, old man Tang called them back.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha!" Old man Tang laughed. After letting out a final laugh, he suddenly produced his metal flask, took two heavy gulps, and then ripped off his outer garment in one motion.

Zhao Dainian and Wang Rui, alongside all subordinate officials, respectfully escorted Zeng Guofan and the others out of the county yamen before setting themselves to work.

Just as people remained doubtful, Luo Ningxue calmly began his lecture once again with that thoroughly confident demeanor of his.

"Along the way... tomb guardians, desiccated corpses... what haven't we encountered? Be it god or ghost, we'll just go take a look." Cheng Yang was right; what terrifying entities hadn't they witnessed along this journey? To let a mere moving statue frighten them into submission would be utterly ridiculous.

Unable to figure it out, I simply stopped thinking about it. Besides, the hour was already very late, and just as I prepared to blow out the lamp, a faint, eerie light flashed across the bronze mirror in my hand.

Those outside the city want to get in, and those inside the city want to get out. A master from over a century ago interpreted the meaning of a fortress with these concise words.

Gao Jun said, "Zhai Zhining is your man, so whether he goes or not is entirely up to your dispatch. I'll also have Hei Da accompany you, which is more than fair on my part. However, to demonstrate your boldness, I suggest that the fewer people you take, the better." With both eye sockets bruised black, Li Daoji kept scrutinizing Prefect Gao's face, finding him entirely deadpan and quite serious, not joking at all.