Li Ban killed Spirit Cultivator Shen with a single strike of his sword, leaving Qiao Zhen'er and Jia Tao staring in stunned silence.
He offered no explanation. Tossing aside his sword, he walked toward the two, who had already stopped fighting.
"Who exactly are you?" Jia Tao blurted in shock as he watched the man approach.
He had watched Zhao De grow up; the young man had nearly surpassed him.
Jia Tao had always worried that Zhao De would become the martial arts hall's new deputy master, so he had kept an exceptionally close eye on him.
The person in front of him was absolutely not Zhao De.
Even if Zhao De had fused a superior element, he could never possess such incredible skill.
Li Ban had no intention of answering the question. He just kept walking toward Jia Tao.
Knowing he was absolutely no match for this stranger, Jia Tao didn't hesitate. He turned and bolted.
A throwing knife flashed from her fingertips like lightning, burying itself directly into the back of Jia Tao's neck.
Jia Tao actually possessed a defensive element, but Li Ban had scared him out of his wits. With all his guard focused on the stranger, he was left completely defenseless against Qiao Zhen'er, who killed him in a single strike.
Jia Tao let out a sharp cry mid-leap and plummeted over the wall. Li Ban didn't bother tracking him, walking over to Qiao Zhen'er instead.
Qiao Zhen'er looked at him. She didn't ask who he was. Her eyes simply reddened. "I was right. There really was something wrong with you, but I completely misunderstood the reason. Ah De... have you already killed him?"
"No. He is in a hidden place right now. Once I no longer need this identity, he will naturally be released."
Qiao Zhen'er stared at him, her gaze wavering. "You didn't kill him?"
"There was no need," Li Ban said calmly.
Qiao Zhen'er couldn't help but reevaluate this unfathomable imposter from head to toe.
His martial prowess was incredible. To effortlessly kill a pair of Level 4 experts while chatting and laughing meant he had to be at least a Level 6 spirit cultivator.
A Level 6 spirit cultivator.
Only extraordinarily powerful factions like the Imperial Dynasty or the Myriad Ancient Pagoda could possess an identity of such a high rank.
Neither she nor the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall had anything worth such an expert coveting.
Thinking of this, Qiao Zhen'er finally relaxed a little.
"Are you going to kill me to silence me?"
Li Ban shook his head. "I don't enjoy killing. If you can cooperate with me on what comes next, not only will I not kill you, but I'll also give you an opportunity."
If this man truly was a Level 6 spirit cultivator, granting a Level 4 spirit cultivator an opportunity would be effortless for him.
"What... what do you need me to do?"
"Pretend you don't know my identity, and continue doing what you need to do."
Qiao Zhen'er's eyes widened slightly.
She had assumed he was impersonating Zhao De to infiltrate the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall, or perhaps to get close to her.
But judging by his indifferent attitude, he was likely just using Zhao De's identity as a cover to handle other matters.
She couldn't help but wonder—was this man a wanted criminal of the Imperial Dynasty?
But in order to stay alive, even if he truly was an unforgivable villain, she had no choice but to cooperate.
She had no idea who he was. Even if she wanted to inform on him, she would have no one to report to.
If she provided vague clues, the people of the Imperial Dynasty would only dismiss her, which would inevitably lead to Li Ban discovering her little tricks.
At that point, he definitely wouldn't let her live.
"I can cooperate with you. But with all of them dead here, the master of the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall will probably turn on me."
The corners of Li Ban's mouth curled up. "If you were ambushed normally, would you still return to the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall?"
"Of course not. I would go to the Shenji Battalion. I've already paved the way; all I lack is the tribute silver."
"You're short on money?" Li Ban asked lightly.
He used to be short on money too, but now he had almost no use for it.
"I'm about two hundred taels short."
Qiao Zhen'er thought that Li Ban might actually make up the difference for her just to keep his identity concealed.
Instead, she heard Li Ban say, "Forget it. I'll have someone send word to the Shenji Battalion to waive your tribute silver."
Qiao Zhen'er was stunned.
She had been saving up that silver for an entire year!
Yet someone of unknown identity was going to waive it with a single sentence.
She knew he might just be making empty promises to temporarily placate her.
But right now, apart from cooperating, it seemed there was nothing else she could do.
If she could save the silver, it would be a pleasant surprise. If she couldn't, it was only to be expected.
"Then... what should I do next?"
Seeing the usually assertive Qiao Zhen'er looking so lost, Li Ban offered her a reminder.
"If I really were Zhao De, and the two of us had just escaped an ambush by Jia Tao and the others, what would you do?"
Seeing that Li Ban wasn't tricking her, Qiao Zhen'er began to think it over.
A moment later, she spoke resolutely. "We can't go back to the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall. We'll head straight for the Shenji Battalion."
Although she had left some of her physical silver back at the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall, with relations completely severed, she definitely couldn't risk going back for it.
However, she still had some money deposited in the bank. If the Shenji Battalion truly waived her tribute silver, the remainder would be enough to sustain her for a long time.
She lifted her head, her spirits returning. "We leave right now. We'll also need to cross the river somewhere else, just in case they've set up an ambush at the iron chain bridge."
Li Ban nodded. "We'll leave now. But on the way back, I need to go check on something. You can wait for me on the road."
What else could Qiao Zhen'er say? She had to agree.
They retraced their steps. Relying on the Silver Kingfisher's feedback, Li Ban had Qiao Zhen'er hide in a rocky crevice to wait while he ventured into the depths of the thick fog.
Li Ban moved quickly. He didn't want to cause any unexpected complications; he just wanted to check on the situation with Lady Kui and Miaomiao.
Soon, he spotted the raw soul of Lady Kui again.
She was still crawling forward, her expression completely wooden.
Li Ban stepped into her path and crouched down.
"Lady Kui."
Sure enough, Lady Kui reacted, but she only raised her head to glance at him before withdrawing her gaze.
"Lady Kui, I'm Li Ban. Do you remember me?"
Lady Kui's crawling abruptly stopped.
She raised her head again and looked at him. Her expression was still wooden, but a flicker of change had appeared in her eyes.
She slowly opened her mouth. "Young Master Li... save... Miaomiao..."
Li Ban raised his hand, gathering Lady Kui into his palm. He looked in the direction she had been crawling.
The fog was incredibly thick. No one knew what lay ahead.
Even so, Li Ban broke into a run, taking wide strides.
As he went deeper, the surrounding spiritual rhinoceros grew increasingly heavy and stagnant.
Fortunately, the spiritual rhinoceros was not Li Ban's only method.
He ran toward the depths of the Nihility State for fifteen minutes. Lady Kui in his palm grew weaker and weaker, her figure becoming increasingly transparent.
Lady Kui was just an ordinary raw soul. She shouldn't have been able to wander this far from the River of Helplessness; it was only her own obsession that had kept her going this long.
Knowing she couldn't go any further, Li Ban set Lady Kui down, intending to continue investigating on his own.
But as soon as she touched the ground, Lady Kui seemed completely oblivious to her own condition and continued crawling forward.
She dragged herself forward one more step, and her raw soul suddenly dissipated.
Li Ban could sense, however, that Lady Kui hadn't truly vanished. She had been dragged back by the rules of the River of Helplessness.
By returning there, all her previous efforts had been rendered completely useless.
Yet, in a few days, her raw soul would very likely crawl out of the River of Helplessness again, doomed to continue crawling toward a place she could never reach.