Outside, the situation soon calmed down as the last man of the Market Guards was done, buckling his belt with bored satisfaction. None of them had taken more than a minute, not because they had poor abilities, but because they were on their superior's clock and didn't want to test his limited patience.
With their skill and cultivations, it was easy enough to stimulate themselves to release quickly. As for the woman below, she was just a means to an end, as no matter her state, it did not much matter to them who had done worse than anything those in Ivy Lane could imagine.
Speaking of her, Gao Na was currently curled up like a shrimp after being released, her body shaking and convulsing. While she hadn't been abused in the sense of raw violence or beating, she could not tolerate the reality of her outcome and almost psychologically wanted to discard her entire body forevermore, leading to the strong physical reaction.
As for her husband, Chen Wu, his eyes had been forcibly kept open to watch the entire process, now becoming so deeply bloodshot he looked like a demon. Tears of blood leaked from his eyes and he had stopped resisting, simply looking at his wife the entire time, waiting to be released so he could rescue her.
The Captain casually sipped the last of his tea, which had incidentally finished just before the act came to an end, which the Market Guards had been watching carefully. He then nodded and one of the two vice captains stepped forward then began speaking loudly.
"The Third Division of the Market Guards have dealt with the crime and dispensed justice here. All those with complaints or queries about the number 9 marketplace, especially in terms of their safety, are free to come to us. We welcome all comers to create a safe and enjoyable environment in the market!"
Hearing this, the Market Guards here almost could not resist snickering, but to the ears of the listeners, they understood the true message being told.
These fellows were from the Third Division and they did not give a damn if you reported them upwards within the chain, even if you could. Still, in order not to affect the market operations, everyone who witnessed this event better shut up about it so that the 'safety index' of the market didn't decrease.
If it spread… well, the outcome of Chen Wu and Gao Na was evident and they had been quite literally innocent by common understanding.
"Move out!" One of the Vice Captains ordered as the two of them used their cultivation to lift up their Captain's 'throne'.
In a rather surprisingly organized formation, the Market Guards filed out towards the end of Ivy Lane, starting from their weakest to their strongest, all moving with a steady pace as their eyes hawkishly glanced around.
It was not until after they left and an entire half hour had passed that people dared to come out of their homes again. There was uncertainty, fear and shock on each and everyone's features, but more than that was a feeling of relief at having survived a disaster.
As for what happened to the Chen couple… well, better they than themselves.
Speaking of them, Chen Wu had long come forward to lift up the trembling Gao Na and carried her into their home, locking their courtyard. While some were curious about the aftermath, few wished to court any trouble at this time by pressing the matter.
Li Ling also came to stand outside his home, glancing at the courtyard nearby and the residue of the evil acts on the street where Gao Na once lay. It was likely that Chen Wu would come and clean it up later, or one could also pay a mortal to come and do such menial work.
Thinking to himself, Li Ling glanced at everyone in his area. The cultivations, ages and sexes varied, but most were young like himself, within twenty to thirty years old at most. Those older than that were rare and most did not stay at a place like Ivy Lane, with another district typically reserved for them.
The ratio of 'high' level cultivators at level 3 of Qi Refinement were low, with most being level 1 like himself and a significant amount being level 2.
Li Ling gave up the thought of trying to kill anyone here. An open battle would see him arrested before he could even kill his target, assuming he even had the skill to do so. A covert assassination was even riskier and even if he managed to accomplish it, he would be discovered with the abilities of the Market Guards.
In as much as they were cruel, they were serious about their jobs and would not condone any crimes in the marketplace. Only they were allowed to kill, rape and rob, never anyone else… and they brutally made sure of that.
Ironically, the marketplace really was actually safe as long as you didn't piss off the Market Guards.
To accumulate Slaughter Points, Li Ling considered three angles. The first was to kill livestock, which were easy and cheap to buy, but he was not sure if they could even surrender one point to him. The second was to kill mortals, which were aplenty in the villages and cities in the region, but he once again was not sure if they counted since they lacked cultivation.
The third was to kill Demon Beasts, animal-like creatures that had induced spiritual energy into their bodies akin to cultivators but retained their beastly instincts. The opposite of them were Spirit Beasts, same creatures, but they had spiritual wisdom and were not savage.
With that in mind, Li Ling decided to do all three. He would head to a mortal city, find a farm and kill some livestock, then slaughter the farmer and his family. On his way back, he would purchase a restrained Demon Beast equivalent to Qi Refinement level 1 under the guise of beast taming, and then kill it.
That way, he would be able to draw parallels on how the Slaughter Point system worked.
Once he accumulated a few cultivation levels and some strong skills… it would be time to test his edge against his own kind!