Yes, that's right, Qing Chen once again detected killing intent directed at him.
After his cultivation reached the seventh level of the Nascent Soul Realm, his perception range became larger and more acute.
After a brief mental sifting, Qing Chen easily guessed the identity of the other party; it was most likely the Second Prince, or rather, the Heaven Feather Sect behind him.
In Qing Chen's view, after the assassination attempt was exposed, the Second Prince would not only not restrain himself, but would instead, due to fears of facing a public trial and retaliation from the Qing family, choose a desperate and extreme path.
And for the Heaven Feather Sect, with an Inner Sect Disciple killed, they, believing themselves to be a powerful Sect, would most likely not swallow this insult.
Of course, Qing Chen also did not rule out the possibility that certain great heroes, wanting to serve the country and its people, sought to eliminate him, the son of a powerful official, in exchange for widespread acclaim and a good reputation after death.
However, this possibility was quickly dismissed by Qing Chen.
The reason was simple: it was not easy for an ordinary force to gather so many Cultivators.
Within his perception range, Qing Chen clearly discerned that there were no fewer than thirty incoming individuals, the weakest of whom had a cultivation at the Peak Foundation Establishment Realm, and there were even some at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm.
'To kill me, these people really went to great lengths.'
Qing Chen did not believe the other party could kill him.
The reason was simple: with his background and talent, even without the System, he would undoubtedly be a significant threat as a villain, not to mention his engagement to the fated female lead.
The protagonist hasn't even emerged from seclusion yet, so how could a major villain be eliminated prematurely?
In Qing Chen's eyes, only the protagonist, or a fated female lead like Han Qingyue, could kill him.
"Someone wants to kill you again?" Raising her gaze, Han Qingyue deciphered a lot of information from Qing Chen's sharp eyes.
"Oh! You noticed that, wife?" Qing Chen asked in surprise.
"Don't you consider your reputation throughout the Great Han Dynasty? The entire Imperial Palace probably couldn't hold all the people who want your life," Han Qingyue rolled her eyes at him.
"What about you? Do you want to kill me?" Qing Chen teased.
"..." Han Qingyue hesitated. If it had been before her marriage to Qing Chen, she would have given an affirmative answer without hesitation.
But after marrying Qing Chen and understanding his true nature, Han Qingyue struggled to give an answer.
"If my wife desires this life of mine, your husband can give it to you at any time." Qing Chen took Han Qingyue's hand and placed it over his heart.
"I'm not a murderer; why would I want your life?" Han Qingyue withdrew her hand and turned her back.
"My wife can't bear to kill me?" Seeing Han Qingyue's expression, Qing Chen couldn't help but want to tease her.
Unfortunately, such empty words that couldn't be put into action, in the System's view, couldn't trigger a wife-pampering reward.
Feeling that neither agreeing nor disagreeing was right, Han Qingyue twisted her body, "Someone wants to kill you, and you're still so improper. I'm ignoring you."
"Just a bunch of petty scoundrels. Watch as your husband resolves them immediately." As soon as Qing Chen finished speaking, under the moonlight, dozens of shadows dispersed from his own shadow and blended into the night.
On the other side.
"Li Elder, when should we make our move? There are quite a few people here. How about we wait until the Lantern Festival ends and ambush them on their way back?" a Disciple asked.
"No! Delays breed trouble. This matter should be handled sooner rather than later; it must be resolved quickly!" Li Elder immediately rejected the Disciple's suggestion.
He knew very well that the higher-ups didn't have that much patience.
Since the Elder had spoken to such an extent, the Disciples couldn't say much more and successively took out their swords and sabers, their faces revealing killing intent.
They completely failed to notice anything amiss with the shadows beneath their feet.
The next moment, before these Heaven Feather Sect Disciples could even act, Shadow Puppets leaped out from the shadows, their palms transforming into blades, pressing against the throats of all the Disciples.
Before they could even react in surprise, their throats were slit, and blood spurted out in streams.
They died in horror!
Watching the dozens of Disciples he had brought being slaughtered in an instant by these inhuman, ghostly figures, Li Elder's heart was filled not only with anger but also with fear.
"You, who exactly are you people! I am an Inner Sect Elder of the Heaven Feather Sect! If anything happens to me, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, the Heaven Feather Sect will pursue you relentlessly, giving you no peace!"
Li Elder tried to intimidate the Shadow Puppets with this, making them understand the stakes involved.
"They are just Puppets. What's the use of telling Puppets all this?" Immediately after, Qing Chen's voice came from above his head.
Li Elder quickly looked up, only then discovering Qing Chen's presence.
His Realm was indeed above Qing Chen's, but he was too nervous to perceive so much.
"Puppets? You made all these?"
Li Elder had initially thought the Sect sending so many accompanying Disciples was making a fuss over nothing; now, it seemed they had sent too few, as they were annihilated in just one encounter.
"Act." Qing Chen had already learned from Li Elder that the mastermind behind all this was indeed inextricably linked to the Heaven Feather Sect, so this person naturally lost his value.
"You want to kill me? It's not that easy! Do you really think this old man is the same as them?!" Li Elder declared, then unleashed the pressure of his Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivation.
In terms of cultivation, it was undeniable that Qing Chen was indeed inferior to him, but Qing Chen had Shadow Puppets, each at the Peak Soul Emergence Realm, completely crushing Li Elder by an entire major Realm.
Likes pressure?
With a thought from Qing Chen, dozens of Shadow Puppets present simultaneously released their pressure.
Boom boom boom!!
Dozens of Peak Soul Emergence Realm pressures, like towering mountains, descended one after another, landing on Li Elder's head.
His knees couldn't hold out for even a moment before bending, crashing heavily to the ground and shattering the bluestone bricks.
"This, this is Soul Emergence Realm! Peak!!"
Li Elder lay prostrate on the ground, feeling a tenfold increase in weight, and with difficulty, he uttered these few words from his mouth.
Having realized the situation, his Battle Intent completely vanished. He never would have imagined that Qing Chen held dozens of Puppets with Peak Soul Emergence Realm strength.
Such combat power was enough to flatten the entire Heaven Feather Sect! Let alone a mere Inner Sect Elder like himself.
Unbeknownst to him, these Shadow Puppets were merely the tip of the iceberg of the tip of the iceberg compared to the actual number of Shadow Puppets Qing Chen controlled; they were simply not worth mentioning.
"Don't, don't kill me, please, I surrender, I admit defeat, I am willing to make a Heavenly Dao vow to henceforth be loyal to you, serving you with all my might, never to betray you!" Facing Qing Chen's absolutely superior strength, Li Elder simply conceded, wanting to pledge allegiance to him.
"I refuse." Qing Chen stated his stance without hesitation.
He hadn't fallen so low as to accept just any random person into his ranks.
Li Elder's potential was clear at a glance, completely devoid of any value.
Secondly, Qing Chen knew how the Heaven Feather Sect's path would unfold; he didn't need Li Elder to guide him.
As he spoke, and with another thought, the Shadow Puppets intensified their pressure.
With a bang, Li Elder's Physical Body was directly crushed until it exploded, tearing into pieces!