Chapter 158: Capture

Under the might of the heavenly divine fire, the incomparably formidable centennial corpse bug instantly turned into flying ash, scattering in the wind under the heretical master's astonished gaze. This centennial corpse bug had been cultivated by his master over decades of painstaking effort. Passed down to his generation, it was already essentially fully formed and served as the heretical master's ultimate trump card. Yet now, it had been reduced to ashes.

"Who on earth are you?" The heretical master looked at Ling Tian in terror. Not fearing heretical Qi and possessing heavenly divine fire—these two traits alone were enough to sweep through any heterodox practitioners. The greatest reliance of heterodox practitioners was precisely these powers; once they failed, it meant they would face a one-sided massacre.

Having disposed of the centennial corpse bug, Ling Tian casually grabbed the flying ash in his hand and tossed it out the window. Then, gazing coldly at the heretical master, he said, "Who I am is not important. What matters is that you must die today." Since the mastermind behind the scenes had been found, the heretical master no longer had any reason to exist.

Just as Ling Tian was about to make a move, the heretical master abruptly shrank in size by a fraction, miraculously slipping right out of Ling Tian's grip. Once he escaped Ling Tian's control, the heretical master's physique rapidly restored itself. Then, like an agile monkey, he bolted toward the window at blinding speed.

Ling Tian let out a cold snort, flashing forward to block the heretical master's path, and once again reached out to grab the heretical master's shoulder. The very instant Ling Tian's fingers touched the heretical master's shoulder, the latter's shoulder abruptly contracted, narrowly dodging Ling Tian's attack before changing direction to continue fleeing.

"Mere bone-shrinking technique, how dare you act presumptuously before me." Ling Tian struck out once more. When he was still a foot away from the heretical master, he performed an empty-handed telekinetic capture. The heretical master felt his entire body controlled by an invisible, powerful force. Immediately following that, a violent surge of True Qi poured into his meridians like a torrent, directly shattering them.

Catching the heretical master again, Ling Tian used the muscle-dismantling and bone-dislocating technique to completely abolish the heretical master's bone-shrinking skill, while simultaneously crippling his heretical arts. Gradually, the black Qi shrouding the heretical master dissipated. Moments later, the heretical master had transformed into an ordinary dwarf. If one ignored that aged face, his physique was indistinguishable from that of a five- or six-year-old child.

"Do not kill me!" The heretical master dropped to his knees with a thud, pleading bitterly. Having lost all his power, he was inferior even to an ordinary child. Playing the pitiful card and begging for mercy was his only remaining option now. "Senior, I was blind and lacked eyes, committing many offenses. I hope you can spare my life this once."

Ling Tian shook his head and said, "Practicing heterodox arts and committing countless evils—even if you died a hundred and one times, it wouldn't be enough to redeem your sins. Prepare yourself to die." Ling Tian slowly extended his right hand, preparing to crush the heretical master's heavenly spirit crown. Having witnessed Ling Tian's methods, the heretical master was scared out of his wits on the spot, wetting himself and emitting a foul stench.

"Mr. Nangong, you must save me!" When kneeling before Ling Tian proved ineffective, the heretical master turned back toward his employers, Nangong Yukun and Nangong Mei. "All of this was arranged by you. Our transaction was purely monetary, and I don't even want the remaining commission. I just hope you can spare my life." With that, the heretical master slammed his head heavily against the floor three times, making a loud thudding sound.

Nangong Yukun and Nangong Mei turned pale with fright, hurriedly waving their hands as they shouted, "Nonsense! We have no relation to you whatsoever. Just now, we were merely putting on a play. Now that death is upon you, you actually dare to frame our father and daughter duo—what is your motive? Ling Tian, why don't you hurry up and kill this monster?"

Desperate to silence him by eliminating witnesses, Nangong Yukun actually dared to issue an order to Ling Tian. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it to the core, but it was already too late to take them back.

Ling Tian cast a cold glance at Nangong Yukun and said disdainfully, "My name is not something you can just throw around. You lack the qualification, and you are even less qualified to order me around. Get lost."

Nangong Yukun and Nangong Mei had long since been awed into submission by Ling Tian's supernatural and formidable power; they didn't dare to challenge him at all and slunk dejectedly into a corner. Exchanging glances, father and daughter shook their heads helplessly. The plot had been exposed, and further words were useless.

Suddenly, Nangong Yukun dropped to his knees before Nangong Family Head Nangong Zhenyu, crying out loudly and aggrievedly, "Eldest Brother, it is all my fault for being momentarily blinded by greed and committing such a ridiculous act. I beg for your forgiveness. Even if you only consider that we share the same mother, you must leave me a path to survival."

Nangong Yukun wept bitterly with a flood of tears and snot, his face covered in guilt and remorse. Nangong Mei dropped to her knees with a thud as well, kowtowing frantically. Her forehead split open, leaving a pool of blood on the ground, yet she continued to kowtow desperately. For she knew that a single word from the Family Head could spare their lives. After all, this was an internal family matter of the Nangong clan; no matter how domineering Ling Tian was, he still had to respect the suggestion of the Nangong Family Head.

Nangong Zhenyu looked at his second younger brother and niece with a complex expression, uncertain of how to choose. He let out a long sigh and said, "Second Brother, Niece, why put yourselves through this? Whatever you wanted, why didn't you just come and ask me directly? Besides, I haven't treated you poorly in ordinary times—giving money when asked, cars when requested. Even when you caused trouble outside, the most I did was scold you a couple of times. But what have you done now? You actually wanted to kill us."

Nangong Yukun, who was intimately familiar with the Nangong Family Head, hurriedly said, "Eldest Brother, it was all our fault for being momentarily foolish and blinded by judgment, leading to such a grave mistake. Now, Mr. Ling has stepped in and timely rectified our misdeeds, fortunately without causing major losses. We hope you can give our father and daughter pair a chance to live..."

Nangong Zhenyu turned his head to look at Ling Tian, wishing to consult his opinion. Ling Tian's various miraculous displays had completely won over Nangong Zhenyu, so when faced with such a monumental issue, Nangong Zhenyu instinctively wanted to seek Ling Tian's counsel.

"Nangong Family Head, this is your family affair. It is not appropriate for me to offer suggestions; you should handle it as you see fit. However, there is one thing I wish to remind you: rivers and mountains are easy to change, but a person's nature is hard to alter. Therefore, I hope that when you make your decision, you consider it thoroughly," Ling Tian said indifferently. In Ling Tian's view, Nangong Yukun and Nangong Mei possessed venomous hearts; for the sake of family property, they refused to spare even their own flesh and blood. If they were spared this time, the moment they got another chance, the Nangong clan would face a catastrophic disaster of utter destruction.

Hearing Ling Tian's words, Nangong Zhenyu let out a heavy sigh and said, "You should never, ever have raised your hands against your own family. We are relatives whose blood is thicker than water."

"Eldest Brother, I beg you, spare us! The population of the Nangong clan is already sparse. If you kill our father and daughter, how will you face our ancestors down below? What face will you have to meet our deceased parents?" Nangong Yukun cried out loudly. Knowing that the Nangong Family Head valued emotional bonds above all else, he played the emotional card.

Having made up his mind, the Nangong Family Head violently flicked his sleeve, displaying the majesty befitting a head of the family, and shouted angrily, "You still have the face to talk to me? You have committed an unpardonable crime; even the Jade Emperor himself couldn't save you now. Rest assured, I will see to it that you are given a generous burial." With that, the Nangong Family Head waved his hand toward the servants behind him.

The servants, receiving the command, swarmed forward immediately, bound Nangong Yukun and his daughter, and dragged them away.

"Nangong Zhenyu, you will die a horrific death! Even as a ghost, I will not let you go!" Nangong Yukun screamed frantically, but none of it could avail him anymore. Awaiting him was the strictest punishment the Nangong clan could mete out: the death penalty. Even if police were present, they would not interfere with the family laws of these ancient aristocratic clans; this was the privilege belonging to the great families.

Having disposed of Nangong Yukun and Nangong Mei, Ling Tian turned his attention back to the heretical master. What interested Ling Tian most was what kind of treasure the heretical master possessed that had actually helped him resist the invasion of heretical Qi and corpse poison.

Just as Ling Tian intended to use his divine sense to investigate, hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor. Immediately afterward, Elder Situ and Yan Fei appeared at the doorway.

Nangong Zhenyu hurried forward to greet them, saying, "Zhenyu pays respects to Senior Situ, and to Brother Yan." Although Nangong Zhenyu was the head of his family, according to the generational seniority among the clans, Nangong Zhenyu still had to address Elder Situ as a generational uncle.

"Mm! I rushed right over upon receiving the news. Leave the rest of the matters to Yan Fei and me." Elder Situ nodded indifferently, then shifted his gaze toward Ling Tian and the heretical master inside the room. At this moment, all heretical Qi in the room had been purged. Furthermore, unaware of the situation, Elder Situ and Yan Fei immediately walked toward Ling Tian to inquire about what had happened.

"Little Brother, I didn't expect you to be here as well. With a master like you around, I can rest easy," Elder Situ said to Ling Tian very politely, simultaneously grasping Ling Tian's right hand in a display of great familiarity. Yan Fei nodded at Ling Tian before his attention fell upon the heretical master.

Nangong Zhenyu knew that Ling Tian was on good terms with the Situ family, but he hadn't expected it to reach this extent. Elder Situ, who possessed the highest seniority among the Four Great Clans, actually addressed Ling Tian as a sworn brother, and Ling Tian maintained an indifferent expression throughout. This meant Nangong Zhenyu was in danger of seeing his own generational status drop.

Yan Fei lowered his head to look at the heretical master beside Ling Tian, studying him carefully for a long time before finally saying coldly, "Young Master Ling, this person is a Nanyang heretical assassin who is well-versed in heterodox sorcery and has committed numerous crimes domestically. I didn't expect him to fall into your hands today."

Unlike the cold and inarticulate Yan Fei, Elder Situ wore an expression of utter shock. As a retired operative of the Security Bureau who had spent the better part of his life rolling through the martial underworld, Elder Situ knew just how formidable this dwarf fugitive was. The Security Bureau had once dispatched an elite combat squad specifically to encircle and suppress the heretical master; out of the ten who went, only two returned.

And those two who returned ultimately perished anyway after being afflicted with corpse poison.

One had to know that those ten special operations members were all experts who had stepped across the threshold of Qi-refining martial artists, and they were heavily armed—yet the entire squad had been wiped out. From then on, the Security Bureau had classified the heretical master as an S-class dangerous person.

"Little Brother, I've always thought you were strong, but now I realize I underestimated you. I never imagined you would capture this monster. This fellow practiced heterodox arts and stopped at nothing for money, yet today he was captured by you," Elder Situ laughed heartily.