“Come on, you’re coming back with me.” Xu Chen grabbed Qingyin’s hand.

“Eh? Xu Chen? Listen to me, actually I—”

“Shut up. Move.” Xu Chen yanked Qingyin, dragging her toward the exit.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, kid. What d’you think you’re doing to our lady customer?” A demon swaggered over, blocking Xu Chen’s way. “She’s a regular here. She’s tried all our services.”

“Fuck off.” Xu Chen really wasn’t the vulgar type, but right now he couldn’t stop the curse from slipping out.

Whoosh—a black blade came up and pressed against the demon’s nose.

“What, you gonna start something?” The demon stared at the blade, not afraid at all. In his eyes, Xu Chen was just a Kingdom Level Six weakling.

Xu Chen took a long, deep breath, then said coldly, “My woman. If she’s done anything wrong, I’ll deal with it myself. It’s not your turn, you animals, to spit filth at her.”

“Who the hell are you calling an animal?” The demon’s pig-like nose flared. Xu Chen had hit a nerve; rage exploded in him at once.

Qingyin couldn’t help the wave of emotion in her chest. She could see from Xu Chen’s face that he was furious with her, furious to the point of shaking. But at the critical moment, in front of outsiders, he was still standing up for her. She reached out with her other hand, grabbed his arm, and quietly hid behind him, a small, happy smile slipping onto her face.

“You deserve worse than death.” Xu Chen looked at the demon like he was already a corpse.

“Fuck you! You picking a fight with me?” The demon swung a fist straight at Xu Chen’s face.

“Trash. You’re begging to die.” Xu Chen didn’t even move. A blade edge appeared from nowhere, a flash of steel, and half of the demon’s punching fist was sliced clean off.

“Eh?… Wh-What… My—my hand!!! Ahhhh!!!”

Xu Chen gave Qingyin a tug to pull her aside, then drew his twin blades. Steel in both hands, he swung left and right, sending out several arcs of orange-red blade light in an instant. The demon didn’t even have time to keep screaming before he was chopped into eight pieces.

“Murder! He’s killing people!!!” Another demon roared, whipping out a broadsword and charging at Xu Chen. At the shout, more demon thugs rushed in—some stormed in from outside the main hall, some burst in from deeper inside the palace, all charging Xu Chen.

“Xu Chen! Watch out! Let’s fight them together!” Qingyin called.

“You get over there and stay put! Your mess, I’ll settle with you when we’re home! Tonight I’m going to drown this filthy den in blood!”

The two blades—Ghost God Asura’s Confession—whirled through the air, bursting into a surge of crimson flame.

At his core, Xu Chen was gentle and kind. If he could avoid killing, he never slaughtered the innocent. But tonight, his eyes were filled with nothing but bloodlust.

He was furious. He was crushed by what Qingyin had done. But he couldn’t explode at her here. In front of outsiders, he had to protect her honor.

And in Xu Chen’s quick, simple calculation, the most effective way to protect that honor right now was for every demon within the Yuenü Palace to end up dead.

Everyone who insulted her would be killed, to the last one, to safeguard her name.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

Overwhelming rage, the desperate need to protect Qingyin’s reputation, and the killing intent seeping from Ghost God Asura’s Confession—all of it twisted together, driving him into deeper bloodlust. A pack of demons rushed him; the Asura blade-light and flames tore into them, ripping everything to shreds like a mad thing. Those who tried to run were hunted down by telekinetic blades and cut to pieces. It still wasn’t enough. Xu Chen dragged Qingyin with him as he charged into the inner rooms of the Yuenü brothel, killing every demon he saw. Any demon guard bold enough to block their way was cut down in a storm of flashing blades.

Wherever he passed, only the suffering women—or the mercenary women lost in their own desire—were spared. Every demon, without exception, died.

By now, Xu Chen was Asura reborn.

He’d slaughtered so many that the demons were scared stiff, scared stupid.

What… what was this thing? Was he really human?

A ghost god. He had to be some ghost god. He carved through vicious demons like he was slicing vegetables.

More ruthless than any demon. His eyes were dyed red with killing.

If they’d known it’d turn out like this, they never would’ve set their sights on his woman. If they saw this Qingyin again, they’d run as far as they could. No matter how pretty she was, they wouldn’t dare touch her.

Like some reborn war god, Xu Chen slaughtered from the first floor to the top, from the basement to the roof, from the front gates to the back courtyard. Anywhere he went, as long as it was a demon, as long as it didn’t look human, he cut it down without a word.

Even Qingyin, following behind him, started to feel scared. Xu Chen… had he gone insane? Just how badly had he been hurt to rage like this?

The mad fighting and butchery went on the entire night. Xu Chen took plenty of wounds himself, but his ferocity never dipped. He was fighting by driving the Stained Skin sigils with pure mental power. His fury gave him strength far beyond his norm. As long as he didn’t die, injuries and blood loss did nothing to his combat power.

Demon blood ran like a river. Staring at the Yuenü Palace turned into a sea of blood, Xu Chen called on Asura, summoning a fierce blaze. The fire didn’t seem to come from anywhere—it was as if the twin blades themselves birthed it. It didn’t need fuel; it burned purely according to Xu Chen’s will.

Xu Chen set the entire brothel alight with a single fire.